| 1 | %% Images selected per Image Pickin' thread: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=1484411391004462100 |
| 2 | %% Please do not change or remove without starting a new thread. |
| 3 | %% |
| 4 | [[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/queen_of_sweden_vs_greta_garbo.jpg]] |
| 5 | [[caption-width-right:350:The real Queen Christina of Sweden, and Creator/GretaGarbo playing her in the [[Film/QueenChristina 1933 film]].]] |
| 6 | %% |
| 7 | %% Caption selected per above IP thread. Please do not replace or remove without discussion here: |
| 8 | %% https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=1404492079030138900 |
| 9 | %% |
| 10 | |
| 11 | ->''"And needless to say, [John Smith] was a short, portly brown-head -- Not the golden-haired Adonis we see before us in the movie."'' |
| 12 | -->-- '''WebVideo/TheNostalgiaChick''' on ''WesternAnimation/{{Pocahontas}}'' |
| 13 | |
| 14 | In a nutshell, this is the tendency of popular entertainment to make {{Historical Domain Character}}s look more handsome or beautiful than they actually were (or are reported to have been by the sources of their time), and/or to fit their looks to the beauty standard of the culture the work is made for. |
| 15 | |
| 16 | Even when sources state that someone was attractive, this was of course according to the standards of their contemporaries. Certain characteristics, such as clear skin, shiny hair, and a certain evenness of the face are universally liked, as they show health. The assessment of all the rest (body type, skin color, facial features) though, varies with the vogue of the time and place. While some of the clothing people used to wear is seen as GorgeousPeriodDress, other fashion and hairstyle choices were also not exactly in line with current tastes. Body modification, ranging from make-up to scarification, varies wildly among cultures and their history and shows how truly polarising ideas of beauty can be. |
| 17 | |
| 18 | A visual {{Woolseyism}}. A historical figure regarded as attractive by contemporaries is depicted as attractive according to modern standards, preventing their good looks from becoming InformedAttractiveness. |
| 19 | |
| 20 | MedievalMorons is as unrealistic as TheBeautifulElite, but the population of former times certainly lacked the comforts of modern technology and therefore, unless stated otherwise, it is safe to assume that the "hero" of one's story carried the marks of a harsh life without proper medicine and full of dangers and hard physical labour; [[FridgeHorror and no toothpaste either]] - though it was only the advent of (cane) sugar that really led to bad teeth en masse.[[note]]Incidentally, the top producer, exporter, and consumer of cane sugar for a long time was the British Empire, via its Caribbean island plantations; this is why we also have the BritishTeeth trope.[[/note]] |
| 21 | |
| 22 | One would think the advent of photography might curb this practice, but in the end, we all just love looking at attractive people too much to let little things such as actual history keep us from imagining them as gorgeous. This trope is, of course, one of the oldest ones there is. When no one knows what the historical person really looked like, all bets are off. |
| 23 | |
| 24 | There are several reasons for this trope. Actors and actresses are in a profession where good looks are an asset and they are selected for that, just as athletes are in better shape than the norm, lawyers and politicians are better at public speaking, etc. So the group playing the part already contains a higher portion of good-looking people. |
| 25 | |
| 26 | Moreover, modern actors take much better care of their appearance than most people and have a whole staff working 24/7 to help them look good. If the historical person they're portraying lacked the time or money to do this -- or had the means, but simply didn't care enough -- then the actor will naturally look more healthy and/or well-groomed than the real person would have. |
| 27 | |
| 28 | Compare HistoricalHeroUpgrade, BeautyEqualsGoodness, AdaptationalAttractiveness, HollywoodHomely, and HotterAndSexier. For the inversion, see HistoricalUglinessUpdate and BeautyInversion. |
| 29 | |
| 30 | See HistoricalRelationshipOverhaul for other changes a HistoricalDomainCharacter may receive. |
| 31 | |
| 32 | [[foldercontrol]] |
| 33 | !!Examples using real people |
| 34 | |
| 35 | [[folder:Anime & Manga]] |
| 36 | * ''Manga/TheRoseOfVersailles'' is a textbook example of this. Virtually every HistoricalDomainCharacter is just as much TheBeautifulElite as the original characters. Admittedly, in Parisian society at the time, one pretty much ''had'' to be breathtaking at every public event, but this being a shojo series, {{Bishie Sparkle}}s abound. |
| 37 | * ''Manga/BlackButler'' has Sir Creator/ArthurConanDoyle as a major character in a recent arc. Instead of a guy with a bushy [[http://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/images/sir-arthur-conan-doyle-1.jpg mustache]], he's a clean-shaven bishounen. |
| 38 | ** Possibly justified by the fact that this Arthur Conan Doyle is implied to be [[IWasQuiteALooker a young version]] and will ''[[YoungFutureFamousPeople grow up]]'' to be the famous writer. The aged-up version appears at the end of Chapter 49. |
| 39 | * In a similar vein, ''Manga/RurouniKenshin'' was known to portray historical figures in more flattering means. Observe: |
| 40 | ** [[http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/29/Yamagata_Aritomo.jpg The historical Yamagata Aritomo]] - [[http://www.nautiljon.com/images/perso/8/9/2/mini/aritomo_yamagata_298.jpg The RK anime Yamagata Aritomo]] |
| 41 | ** [[http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/88/Kido_Takayoshi_1869.jpg The historical Katsura Kogoro]] - [[https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Katsura_4803.jpg The Tsuiokuhen Katsura Kogoro]] |
| 42 | ** [[http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c8/Shinsaku_Takasugi.jpg The historical Takasugi Shinsaku]] - [[https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Takasugi_1179.jpg The Tsuiokuhen Takasugi Shinsaku]] |
| 43 | %%** [[http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ae/Toshimichi_Okubo_4.jpg The historical Okubo Toshimichi]] - [[http://www.mangarush.com/files/mangas/rurouni-kenshin/55/1.jpg The RK manga/anime Okubo Toshimichi]] |
| 44 | ** Although it should be noted that these were not intended to make them look more flattering. The author at least blames it on a lack of reference pictures most of the time. |
| 45 | * Creator/AlexanderPushkin looks better in Creator/ChihoSaito's ''Bronze no Tenshi'' than he did in RealLife. |
| 46 | * ''Bungaku Daishi'' or 'Male Literary Figures' is a book published with manga art profiling famous authors - Creator/MarquisdeSade, Creator/FranzKafka, Creator/HansChristianAndersen, [[Literature/WarAndPeace Leo Nikolayevich Tolstoy]], poet Jean Nicolas Arthur Rimbaud, Junichirō Tanizaki (''Literature/TheMakiokaSisters''), [[Literature/DonQuixote Miguel de Cervantes]], Creator/TheBrothersGrimm, and poet Charles Pierre Baudelaire... All of them are [[http://natalie.mu/comic/gallery/show/news_id/52885/image_id/83911 depicted]] as {{bishonen}}. |
| 47 | ** In a similar vein, Atsushi Nakajima (''The Moon Over the Mountain''), Osamu Dazai (''No Longer Human''), the aforementioned Tanizaki, and many more authors are adapted into superpowered bishonen in ''Manga/BungouStrayDogs''. Female authors such as Akiko Yosano (''Thou Shalt Not Die'') also get adapted. |
| 48 | * ''Manga/AfterschoolCharisma'': A manga populated by the teenage clones of various famous people, all of whom are uniformly gorgeous. Some of them are people who were well-known for being beautiful in real life, but "gorgeous bishie teenage Freud" and "gorgeous bishie teenage Napoleon" kind of strain credulity. |
| 49 | ** Lampshaded in volume 3 where it is implied that the originals were not that beautiful and it was the cloning process that made them that way. |
| 50 | * Similar to ''The Rose of Versailles'', every HistoricalDomainCharacter in ''Manga/RedRiver1995'' is completely ''gorgeous'', despite the story taking place in a time period not even in the Iron Age and having most of said characters be involved with military campaigns. Interestingly, the fact that so many people gush over how beautiful and flawless and soft Yuri's skin is (as one would expect from a teenage girl in modern times who hasn't done much hard labor) suggests that such qualities ''are'' considered rare enough that it's considered a major point of beauty for her. |
| 51 | [[/folder]] |
| 52 | |
| 53 | [[folder:Arts]] |
| 54 | * When the ten-dollar bill was upgraded, UsefulNotes/AlexanderHamilton, despite already being handsome by many measures, was still given a streamlined facelift. |
| 55 | * This trope is by no means new. Paintings, statues, busts, etc. of royal and rich people were known to improve a person's appearance. One instance where it was especially common was during an arranged marriage. Many times, the betrothed wouldn't see each other until the day of the wedding, especially if there was great distance between them (like the children of two different kingdoms). The only way they would know what their future spouse would look like is through paintings, and artists were known to smooth out pockmarks and add and subtract a few inches. |
| 56 | ** [[UsefulNotes/ElizabethI Queen Elizabeth I]] used this to her advantage to make people think she was young, healthy, and attractive even when she had smallpox scars, grew old, and lost her hair and wore a wig. As with many things, mocked in ''Series/{{Blackadder}}'': |
| 57 | --->'''Baldrick:''' Well, my cousin Bert Baldrick, Mr. Gainsborough's butler's dogsbody, he says that he's heard that all portraits look the same these days since they are painted to a romantic ideal, rather than as a true depiction of the idiosyncratic facial qualities of the person in question. |
| 58 | ** This trope didn't work out quite so well when Elizabeth's father UsefulNotes/HenryVIII was shopping for a fourth wife. The famous painter Holbein did a portrait of Anne, a minor Princess of Cleves, which made the most of what beauty she did possess... but as Henry discovered when they met in person, that wasn't much. Henry had his aide Cromwell beheaded for screwing the situation up so badly. They did marry, but by Anne's own account the marriage was never consummated and she eventually consented to his offer of an amicable divorce. Ironically, this was ''great'' for Anne -- outside of the lack of attraction, [[AmicableExes she and Henry got along really well]] [[BetterAsFriends as friends]]. She was allowed to remain in England for the rest of her (long) life, was good friends with both of her former stepdaughters, and Henry treated her like a sister, giving her expensive gifts and inviting her to all the events at court. Best of all, she didn't get beheaded, which shows how well she came ahead of the other wives - she outlived them all. To come cycling back to this page's trope, in the TV series ''Series/TheTudors'' she is played by Music/JossStone. |
| 59 | * The Physics building of Chalmers University of Technology (Göteborg, Sweden) is decorated with a dozen sculptures, depicting famous Swedish scientists from Celsius onward. All are shown as idealistically beautiful - except Svante Arrhenius, who was still alive when the building was erected. His statue looks like he actually looked. Reportedly, he was none too pleased with this. |
| 60 | * Most {{Ancient Egypt}}ian kings commissioned all their sculptures, tomb reliefs, and burial masks to depict them as youthful, attractive, and healthy[[note]]There were a few possible exceptions, such as Senwosret III[[/note]]. Hatshepsut even required depictions [[SheIsTheKing to make her male]]. But thanks to mummification, forensic scientists can reconstruct what many of them actually looked like. |
| 61 | ** For example, UsefulNotes/RamsesII lived to be a very old man and was not in perfect health. UsefulNotes/{{Tutankhamun}} had an overbite, a slight cleft palate, and a club foot, and was probably not what we'd call handsome. UsefulNotes/{{Hatshepsut}} was, ''gasp!!'', a woman. Don't expect contemporary artwork to depict them that way. |
| 62 | ** In an inversion UsefulNotes/{{Akhenaten}}, Tutankhamun's father who tried unsuccessfully to replace the entire Egyptian religion with a new one always had himself and his family depicted as pot-bellied androgyns with elongated, weird-looking faces. For years, Egyptologists wondered if it was artistic convention or hereditary deformity until they identified his mummy and learned that no, he looked pretty average. |
| 63 | ** Also, fairly recent research and examinations have shown that Hatshepsut was probably obese and afflicted with a nasty skin condition toward the end of her reign. Link here: http://www.livescience.com/7336-mummy-reveals-egyptian-queen-fat-balding-bearded.html |
| 64 | ** The Art/NefertitiBust was often held to be a depiction of her as stately and beautiful. A documentary showed that this was mostly due to the lighting since the bust was often illuminated for best presentation. Changing the lighting showed a bunch of wrinkles and a more aged look. |
| 65 | * One reason why photography wasn't always successful in making people look more realistic is that most mainstream photography was black-and-white until the 1950s, and much of it still was until the 1980s. Black-and-white film is more light-sensitive and requires more artificial lighting in its setup, so people photographed in black-and-white are unnaturally illuminated, [[LightIsGood tend to appear "angelic"]], and are thus more physically attractive than they otherwise would be. (Unless, of course, the subject is shot in low-key photography, but that is usually reserved for villains, [[AntiHero morally ambiguous characters]], or people who are supposed to look unattractive to the viewer.) A second reason is that, at least in the nineteenth century, people getting photographed took the experience a lot more seriously than they do now. Photographers were all trained professionals, possessed a great deal of technical knowledge as well as artistic talent, and were thought of almost as photorealistic portrait painters than simply recorders of events. People always wore their best clothes for photos in those days. Men shaved and women put their hair up, and even the children wore suits. They certainly didn't look like that all the time. |
| 66 | [[/folder]] |
| 67 | |
| 68 | [[folder:Comic Books]] |
| 69 | * ''ComicBook/RequiemVampireKnight'': While ''Frankenstein'''s author Mary Shelley was not ugly by any means, she wasn't a blue-eyed blonde, like she is depicted in the comic during a flashback. This is the most notable instance where it's played straight since this work tends to invert it with most historical figures, who are turned into demonic monsters; for example, Elizabeth I is turned into a gorgon, while UsefulNotes/{{Nero}} becomes a twisted [[Film/TheRockyHorrorPictureShow Dr. Frank N. Furter]] {{expy}}. |
| 70 | [[/folder]] |
| 71 | |
| 72 | [[folder:Fan Works]] |
| 73 | * In ''Fanfic/CodexEquus'', this happened to [[HumbleHero Blue Suede Heartstrings]], who is [[NoCelebritiesWereHarmed based]] on Music/ElvisPresley. While he initially had the same [[BigEater huge appetite]] as Elvis Presley did, he would significantly cut down on his eating habits after having [[AcidRefluxNightmare a food-fueled nightmare]] about becoming grossly fat in his old age, resulting in him retaining his handsomeness by the time he [[DeityOfHumanOrigin Ascended to godhood]]. By stark contrast, Elvis didn't adopt the same restraint, causing him to grow really fat later in his life. |
| 74 | [[/folder]] |
| 75 | |
| 76 | [[folder:Films -- Animation]] |
| 77 | * ''WesternAnimation/{{Pocahontas}}'': |
| 78 | ** John Smith's appearance was changed to suit modern tastes, making him tall, muscular and clean-shaven, and giving him a leonine mane of blonde hair. The real John Smith had a very out-of-date beard, and who knows what he looked like beneath that thing. As a career soldier and explorer, however, he was probably quite fit, though judging by his portraits he had a more average build than his Disney counterpart. |
| 79 | ** Pocahontas is turned into a Native-American runway model rather than the [[AgeLift 12-year-old]] she really was at the time of their meeting. When she visited England, years later, she looked like [[http://xroads.virginia.edu/~CAP/PIX/pocahontas.gif this]]. |
| 80 | ** In general the Powhatan people are shown dressing as a generic mix of indigenous cultures. In real life, they did have unique clothing, hairstyles, and body modifications... which don't make for a G-rated Disney film. |
| 81 | * ''WesternAnimation/{{Moana}}'' is mostly accurate to Polynesian aesthetics. However, there is a noticeable lack of stained teeth, which were common fashion in many cultures. |
| 82 | [[/folder]] |
| 83 | |
| 84 | [[folder:Films -- Live-Action]] |
| 85 | * ''Film/IronJawedAngels'' is a pretty emotionally intense retelling of the victorious last years of the Woman's Suffrage Movement. And, of course, many of the Suffragettes were very beautiful, but they certainly weren't that smokin' hot. |
| 86 | * The 2006 film ''Film/LonelyHearts'' was about [[http://www.serialkillersmurders.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/Raymond-Fernadez-Martha-Beck.jpg Martha Beck and Raymond Fernandez]]. It starred Creator/SalmaHayek and Creator/JaredLeto. Also a RaceLift, as Beck was Caucasian and Fernandez was Spanish. |
| 87 | * ''Film/{{Alexander}}'': You don't really think the mother of UsefulNotes/AlexanderTheGreat, Queen Olympias, really looked like Creator/AngelinaJolie, do you? In any case, historical record has her as a very pale redhead. On the other hand, she ''was'' beautiful enough to inspire Philip II with a case of the hots at first sight. |
| 88 | * Creator/DebbieReynolds as ''Film/TheUnsinkableMollyBrown''. Creator/KathyBates in ''Film/{{Titanic 1997}}'' was much closer to [[https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/4f/a5/78/4fa578227336f5f085f989d481fe5da6.jpg the genuine article]], but still prettied up a bit. |
| 89 | * Nicky Arnstein in ''Film/FunnyGirl'', and some would also claim the title character falls prey to this. It's hard to say, though, that [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Barbra_Streisand_1962.jpg Barbra Streisand]] is significantly more or less attractive than [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Fannybricebain.jpg Fanny Brice]]. |
| 90 | * In the film adaptation of ''Theatre/{{Gypsy}}'', RealLife {{burlesque}} artist Gypsy Rose Lee was played by Creator/NatalieWood, who had a significantly prettier face. |
| 91 | * The page image is Creator/GretaGarbo playing [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christina_of_Sweden Queen Christina of Sweden]] in ''Film/QueenChristina''. Contemporary paintings and descriptions presented the queen as fairly ugly and butch. She also had traditionally male-like mannerisms, interests, and way of dressing. All this has led some historians to speculate that she may have actually been biologically intersex. |
| 92 | * ''Film/RedCliff'' does this for several figures of the Three Kingdoms era in China. Both Creator/TakeshiKaneshiro (Zhuge Liang) and Chang Chen (Sun Quan) have been "spokesmodels" in addition to their careers as actors. On the other hand, Zhou Yu (Tony Leung) and Xiao Qiao (Lin Chiling) ''are'' remembered as being attractive. |
| 93 | * Creator/ClaireDanes playing autistic Temple Grandin in the [[Film/TempleGrandin film of the same name]]. While they don't really look alike, Danes was able to imitate Grandin's voice perfectly despite getting to meet her only once. |
| 94 | * ''Film/{{Fair Game|2010}}'': Valerie Plame isn't a bad-looking woman by any means, but compared to Creator/NaomiWatts, well, there just is no comparison. |
| 95 | * In the film ''Golda'', the not-terribly-attractive Ariel "Arik" Sharon is played by the very handsome Ohad Knoller. While the film took pains to de-beautify Helen Mirren as the aging and plain Golda Meir and Liev Schreiber as the notoriously ugly Henry Kissinger, the only effort they made with Ohad Knoller was putting him in an unkempt wig. |
| 96 | * Creator/ClintEastwood's 1920s period piece ''Film/{{Changeling}}'' had Christine Collins, a very ordinary-looking woman, played by Creator/AngelinaJolie. |
| 97 | * In the German movie ''Film/JewSussRiseAndFall'', not really ugly actor Creator/MoritzBleibtreu plays Joseph Goebbels, of all people! It's possibly a case of the casting subverting BeautyEqualsGoodness since the real Goebbels was not that ugly-looking, it is just that many of the photographs of him show him either frowning or with distorted features while delivering one of his hate-filled speeches. Note that the actor who played his expy Garbitsch in ''Film/TheGreatDictator'' looked quite a bit more handsome than Hynkel (Hitler) or Herring (Goering). |
| 98 | * ''Film/{{Monster}}'' Tyria Moore was overweight and rather butch in appearance, while in the film she is replaced by a much more feminine and attractive character named Selby Wall, played by Creator/ChristinaRicci. The film does, however, notably avert the trope with an [[BeautyInversion uglied-up]] Creator/CharlizeTheron playing Aileen Wuornos. |
| 99 | * No one would call Music/TheRunaways ugly, but [[Film/TheRunaways the film on them]] [[https://ambrosia.com.br/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/TheRunawaysMovie2.jpg does a big favor on the girls]]. Compare [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pMDn6V7ZLhE this]] to [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aNNp5GyzlKc this]]. |
| 100 | * Has happened many times with Creator/JohnnyDepp: he's played [[http://www.xomba.com/files/images/jung.preview.png George Jung]] in ''Film/{{Blow}}'', [[http://kjzz.org/news/arizona/archives/200906/johndillinger/johndillinger.jpg John Dillinger]] in ''Film/PublicEnemies'', [[http://rpmedia.ask.com/ts?u=/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/9c/James_Matthew_Barrie00.jpg/200px-James_Matthew_Barrie00.jpg J.M. Barrie]] in ''Film/FindingNeverland'', [[http://image1.findagrave.com/photos250/photos/2009/6/15017132_123133453393.jpg Frederick Abberline]] in ''Film/FromHell'' and [[http://www.crimeandinvestigation.co.uk/crime-files/donnie-brasco/biography/mainContent/0/image/Donnie-Brasco-%28200x200%29.jpg Joseph D. Pistone]] in ''Film/DonnieBrasco'', all of whom were arguably somewhat less attractive than the man himself. However, he bears a reasonable actual resemblance to other people he's played, [[https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcR9IN2zgrbG3p2UilnHO3pnBLmXp-WYTkbWGA&usqp=CAU including]] Creator/{{Ed|Wood}} [[Film/EdWood Wood]], and he's also always up for making himself less attractive in roles, like when he accurately portrayed John Wilmot's horrible death from syphilis in ''Film/{{The Libertine|2004}}''. He also wanted to have huge ears and a fake nose in ''Film/SleepyHollow1999'' and a badly-reattached nose in ''Film/PiratesOfTheCaribbeanTheCurseOfTheBlackPearl''. The studio execs said no in both cases, obviously understanding the box office power of having him be MrFanservice. |
| 101 | * Music/{{Beyonce}} plays famed icon Music/EttaJames in ''Film/CadillacRecords'' (2008). [[https://bossip.files.wordpress.com/2012/01/ettab-e1327098709967.jpg This comparison]] shows that Mrs. James, while still lovely, wasn't exactly... well, ''Beyoncé'' |
| 102 | * ''Film/AmazingGrace'', In which we have the short-even-by-the-standards-of-the-time, very near-sighted [[http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/eb/William_wilberforce.jpg William Wilberforce]], portrayed by [[http://image.guardian.co.uk/sys-images/Film/Pix/gallery/2007/03/05/WilliamWilberforce3.jpg Ioan Gruffudd]]. In real life, Thomas Clarkson was, while not terrible-looking, definitely [[http://thelouvertureproject.org/images/thumb/d/dc/Thomas_clarkson.jpg/180px-Thomas_clarkson.jpg a bit]] [[http://old.antislavery.org/2007/images/clarkson.jpg overweight]]. The movie had [[http://www.brh.org.uk/articles/images/ag3.jpg Rufus Sewell in an unflattering wig]]. |
| 103 | * From the movie ''Film/{{Downfall}}'': Compare the real [[http://www.history.ucsb.edu/faculty/marcuse/classes/133d/essays/images/JungePortrait.jpg Traudl Junge]], with this [[http://images.wikia.com/hitlerparody/images/e/e2/Traudl.jpg one.]] |
| 104 | * Creator/MerylStreep [[Film/TheIronLady as]] UsefulNotes/MargaretThatcher. [[http://www.inquisitr.com/wp-content/2011/11/meryl-streep.jpg Here's a comparison.]] |
| 105 | ** [[http://contents.pep.ph/images2/guide/123ad587b.jpg Meryl Streep]] [[Film/JulieAndJulia as]] [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Julia_Child_restore.jpg Julia Child]] too. |
| 106 | * Creator/ColinFarrell as John Smith in ''Film/{{The New World|2005}}''. At least they got his hair color right. |
| 107 | * While ''{{Film/Patton}}'' got the physical appearance of the main character down, the real General Patton had a weak, rather high-pitched voice and reportedly hated giving public speeches. Meanwhile, one of the best-remembered parts of the movie is Patton's confident speech in a deep, growling voice. |
| 108 | * Creator/LiamNeeson is ''much'' more handsome than the real Professor Alfred Kinsey, whom he portrayed in ''Kinsey''. The man himself looked rather like a slightly overweight Creator/{{William H Macy}}. |
| 109 | * ''Film/SchindlersList'': Creator/LiamNeeson is more handsome in than the real-life Oskar Schindler, who was apparently something of a KavorkaMan. |
| 110 | * ''UsefulNotes/NedKelly'' |
| 111 | ** [[http://www.ironoutlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/JoeByrne-600x900.jpg This]] is Australian outlaw Joe Byrne. Not a bad-looking guy, actually. [[http://content9.flixster.com/poll/17/30/173055_std.jpg This]] is Joe Byrne as portrayed by Creator/OrlandoBloom. |
| 112 | ** [[http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cc/Ned_Kelly_in_1880.png This]] is what Ned Kelly looked like. [[http://mozi-iz.freeblog.hu/files/1heath-ned-kelly.jpg This]] is what he looked like being played by Creator/HeathLedger (though Heath ''did'' get a beard later on in the film). |
| 113 | ** He didn't look like Music/MickJagger either, [[http://l7.alamy.com/zooms/d1c4019fc88f4da8bdc96d64e565e417/mick-jagger-ned-kelly-1970-bpja4j.jpg not even if Jagger had a beard.]] |
| 114 | * ''Film/ButchCassidyAndTheSundanceKid'': Creator/PaulNewman played [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Butchcassidy.jpg Butch]], Creator/RobertRedford and Creator/KatharineRoss the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Sundance_Kid_and_wife-clean.jpg Kid and Etta]]. |
| 115 | * ''Film/TheBaaderMeinhofComplex'': The real [[https://i.pinimg.com/originals/92/e2/18/92e21878b8f62b3b55fb593e0bb0de66.jpg Petra Schelm]], while not ''un''attractive by any means, wasn't quite as photogenic as Creator/AlexandraMariaLara. |
| 116 | * ''Film/TheSocialNetwork'': While played straight with Mark Zuckerberg, Shawn Parker, and Eduardo Saverin, who are played by Creator/JesseEisenberg, Music/JustinTimberlake and Creator/AndrewGarfield, respectively, it's inverted with Divya Narendra. Aside from the RaceLift, the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:MaxMinghella2006.jpg actor who played him]] doesn't have anything near his chiseled features in [[http://i.ytimg.com/vi/ztbIUFEZFJQ/0.jpg real]] [[http://im.rediff.com/movies/2010/nov/15divya.jpg life]]. |
| 117 | * [[http://s3.amazonaws.com/findagrave/photos/2001/242/975_999281021.jpg Belle Starr, in real life.]] [[http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_mc26cksIb61qic5j2o1_500.jpg Belle Starr, as played by Gene Tierney.]] |
| 118 | * [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Eric_Bana_at_the_2009_Tribeca_Film_Festival.jpg Eric Bana's]] portrayal of [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Hans_Holbein,_the_Younger,_Around_1497-1543_-_Portrait_of_Henry_VIII_of_England_-_Google_Art_Project.jpg Henry VIII]] in ''Film/TheOtherBoleynGirl''. WordOfGod justifies the portrayal as somewhat accurate, as Henry was an athletic soldier and horseman when he was younger. The better-known 300-pound crazy man was later in life, due to health issues including a jousting injury. |
| 119 | ** Creator/NataliePortman does match up the descriptions we have of Anne Boleyn (olive skin, dark hair, flat-chested, dark eyes), and while she does resemble [[https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b6/A_Lady%2C_called_Anne_Boleyn%2C_by_Hans_Holbein_the_Younger.jpg some sketches of Hans Holbein that may be of Anne, although it's debatable at best]], the real Anne probably wasn't as pretty as Natalie Portman. |
| 120 | * ''Film/{{Apollo 13}}'': Creator/GarySinise [[http://images5.fanpop.com/image/photos/28000000/gary-sinise-als-ken-mattingly-gary-sinise-28044677-1184-1374.jpg as]] [[http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/52/Mattingly_Ken.jpg Ken Mattingly]]. |
| 121 | * Compare the [[http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/af/Vlad_Tepes_002.jpg actual Vlad the Impaler]] with the [[http://newnownext.mtvnimages.com/2014/09/dracula-untold-luke-evans-2.jpg movie version]] in ''Film/DraculaUntold''. |
| 122 | * ''Film/TheWindAndTheLion'': Raisuli, a Berber bandit, is played as a dashing rogue by Creator/SeanConnery. [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mulai_Ahmed_er_Raisuni#mediaviewer/File:Raisuli.JPG This]] is what the Raisuli actually looked like. |
| 123 | * [[http://literofilia.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/Mar%C3%ADa-Felix3.png Glamourous Mexican diva María Félix]] in the 1944 movie ''La monja alférez'' (The Ensign Nun) about [[http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9f/Catalina_de_Erauso.jpg Catalina de Erauso]]. |
| 124 | * ''Film/TheImitationGame'': Creator/BenedictCumberbatch and Creator/KeiraKnightley are considerably better looking than their characters' real-life counterparts (Alan Turing and Joan Clarke, respectively). Alan Turing in particular was a bit of a slob rather than the SharpDressedMan he's depicted as being in the film. |
| 125 | * Creator/FelicityJones as [[https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BMTgwNDE1MjY3MV5BMl5BanBnXkFtZTgwMzU4MDQ3MzI@._V1_SY1000_CR0,0,939,1000_AL_.jpg Ruth Bader Ginsberg]] in ''Film/OnTheBasisOfSex.'' Given that she is portraying Ginsberg [[https://www.google.com/search?q=ruth+bader+ginsburg+young&biw=1366&bih=667&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0CAYQ_AUoAWoVChMI9NnXqLf9yAIVCOcmCh135gkO#imgrc=_ in her youth]], it may not be so far off. |
| 126 | * ''Film/FourteenNinetyTwoConquestOfParadise'' has Creator/SigourneyWeaver in [[https://i.pinimg.com/originals/7d/9a/97/7d9a9743493a1882ffbb2f0550d77722.png those gorgeous dresses]] playing Queen Isabella, quite an upgrade to [[https://i.natgeofe.com/n/dc96642a-c7ca-49d4-b1c9-3a62a6493f62/10-queen-isabella.jpg the real Spanish monarch]]. |
| 127 | * ''Film/TheBlingRing'': |
| 128 | ** Nick Prugo described Claire Julien playing Chloe (based on Courtney Ames) as being "way hotter than [Courtney is] in real life". |
| 129 | ** Alexis Neiers gets played by Emma Watson, who is slightly slimmer and more conventionally pretty. |
| 130 | ** Katie Chang's Rebecca Lee is likewise slimmer and more made up than the real girl. |
| 131 | * The 1975 Czech/Yugoslav production on the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, "The Day That Shook The World", starred Creator/ChristopherPlummer as the Archduke and Brazilian actress Florinda Bolkan as his wife, Duchess Sophie. Bolkan is actually a good lookalike for the Duchess; hers is one of the more accurate portrayals, in fact, as the dark-haired Sophie had previously been portrayed by ''blonde'' actresses Luise Ullrich and Lucyna Winnicka. Plummer, however, is distinctly more handsome than Franz Ferdinand, with a more clipped mustache (and also lacks the characteristic "Habsburg lip"). Both Plummer and Bolkan are also thinner than the historical personages they play. |
| 132 | * Normal-looking people [[http://www.higgypop.com/assets/56e33c82570eb_1457732738_5.jpg Ed and Lorraine Warren]] are played by Hollywood heartthrobs Creator/PatrickWilson and Creator/VeraFarmiga in ''Film/TheConjuring'' films. |
| 133 | * ''Film/HiddenFigures'': |
| 134 | ** Mary Jackson was pudgy and not particularly stunning when she worked at NASA. Music/JanelleMonae is slimmer and more attractive, which is especially notable when the real pictures of Mary appear at the end. |
| 135 | ** John Glenn was also in his forties when he went up into space. Creator/GlenPowell was twenty-seven. |
| 136 | * ''Film/YoungBess'': |
| 137 | ** UsefulNotes/CatherineParr was average looking and said to be "past her bloom" when Henry VIII married her since she was in her early thirties. She's played by legendary screen beauty Creator/DeborahKerr, who was a full six years younger than Catherine was at the time.[[note]]Kerr was actually going to be cast as ''Elizabeth'', but scheduling conflicts with ''Edward, My Son'' prevented it.[[/note]] |
| 138 | ** Tom Seymour was portrayed by screen charmer Stewart Granger. |
| 139 | * ''Film/{{Frida}}'': Creator/SalmaHayek portrayed artist [[https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/2b/6b/e8/2b6be8d9e92b4e3343e7f966ff25e878.jpg Frida Kahlo]] and Alfred Molina played her husband Diego Rivera. Downplayed in that Frida Kahlo's [[BigOlUnibrow well-known "unibrow"]] was part of Hayek's makeup, and Molina wore a fat suit to portray the overweight Rivera. |
| 140 | * ''Film/Conspiracy2001'': Varies from character to character. Some are a pretty good fit for their real-life counterpart, but for instance, the dashing Creator/ColinFirth plays the ugly-looking [[http://www.holocaustchronicle.org/staticpages/HolocaustScans/HiRes/1935/19350008000006 Wilhelm Stuckart]]. Inverted with Gerhard Klopfer, who was [[https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/04/Bundesarchiv_Bild_119-06-44-12%2C_Gerhard_Klopfer.jpg perfectly ordinary looking]] in real life, but is played by an [[http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-90BTffvk1go/UlPycHKEHfI/AAAAAAAAMt8/-xpVvk_SeaQ/s1600/10.png obese, unpleasant-looking actor]]. |
| 141 | * The 2018 biopic ''Film/FightingWithMyFamily'', based on the Knight [[WrestlingFamily family of wrestlers]] in Norwich: |
| 142 | ** Sweet Saraya is portrayed by Creator/LenaHeadey, who even in the makeup still looks more attractive. |
| 143 | ** Jack Lowden is more chiseled (One of the reasons Zak was said to have been passed because he wasn't in the best shape) and PrettyBoy-esque as Zak Zodiac than the real guy is. |
| 144 | ** Averted with Creator/FlorencePugh as {{Wrestling/Paige}}. The documentary the film is based on made a point that Paige's beauty helped draw more fans, and she was signed by WWE instantly. |
| 145 | ** Wrestling/TheaTrinidad portrays Wrestling/AJLee and is much [[AdaptationalCurves curvier and buxomer]] than the real AJ who has a {{waif|Fu}}ier frame. |
| 146 | * ''Film/Pinocchio2009'': In real life, Carlo Collodi was PrematurelyBald and overweight, in addition to being in his sixties when he wrote ''Literature/TheAdventuresOfPinocchio''. This version is portrayed by TallDarkAndHandsome and MrFanservice actor Alessandro Gassmann, who is younger and has a full head of hair. |
| 147 | * A downplayed case in ''Film/CarlotaJoaquinaPrincesaDoBrasil'' with King Dom João of Portugal, who was well-known for being [[AdiposeRex really fat and rotund]]. While the movie doesn't necessarily portray him as attractive, actor Marco Nanini is much leaner than the royal he portrayed and looks more disheveled - though the characters [[InformedFlaw still insist he looks fat]]. |
| 148 | * In ''Film/OutlawKing'', Robert the Bruce, who wasn't even [[https://youtu.be/uyf6pkprZNA handsome]] for his own time, is played by Creator/ChrisPine. |
| 149 | * [[https://blacknuba.files.wordpress.com/2013/04/catalinared.jpg This]] is what 16th Century Spanish nun and cross-dressing soldier Catalina de Erauso looked like. [[http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9Z7bTPfg7Wc/VdYTh61cciI/AAAAAAAAFNs/MzkKaUntkNI/s1600/la-monja-alferez_51071_36239.jpg This]] is what she looked like on screen. |
| 150 | * ''Film/{{Bernie}}'' has Creator/MatthewMcConaughey playing D.A. Danny Buck as a handsome, fit 40-something, when the real Buck was in his 50s, balding and described as looking like a bulldog. The trope is inverted with the title character as the real Bernie Tiede was taller, fitter, and arguably more handsome than Creator/JackBlack. |
| 151 | * ''Film/AKnightsTale:'' Creator/PaulBettany is considerably better looking, not to mention taller and thinner, than the actual Creator/GeoffreyChaucer. |
| 152 | * ''Film/TheMiracleOfTheWolves'': Jean-Louis Barrault was much easier on the eyes than his character, the rather ugly King of France UsefulNotes/LouisXI. |
| 153 | * ''Film/RomasantaTheWerewolfHunt'': The RealLife Manuel Romasanta was extremely short (contemporary accounts put his height between 4'6" and 4'11") and 'tender looking'. A far cry from the 5'11" Creator/JulianSands, whose character is repeatedly described as 'tall', 'strong' and 'muscular' and who radiates a dark sexual magnetism. |
| 154 | * ''Film/SaintLaurent'' has the exceptionally handsome Creator/GaspardUlliel playing the iconic fashion designer. St. Laurent himself was a tall, handsome man but Ulliel is much more classically good-looking. |
| 155 | * UsefulNotes/QueenVictoria, while a young woman of average attractiveness, was heavy-set, with exophthalmic eyes[[note]]The bulgy sort often seen on fish[[/note]] and a mouth that usually hung open a little bit. She at no time in her life looked like Creator/EmilyBlunt, who plays her in ''Film/TheYoungVictoria''. |
| 156 | * ''Film/{{Tombstone}}'': The real-life [[https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/93/KATE_WIKI.jpg "Big Nose" Kate Horony]] was rather plain looking, whereas in the film she is played by the beautiful Creator/JoannaPacula. |
| 157 | * ''Film/WhatsLoveGotToDoWithIt1993'': |
| 158 | ** Ike Turner wasn't exactly a good looking man, especially as he got older. Ike in the film is played by the much more traditionally handsome Creator/LaurenceFishburne. |
| 159 | ** Downplayed with Tina. While Music/TinaTurner was no where near ugly, the Tina in the film, played by Creator/AngelaBassett, is still more attractive (and [[AdaptationalCurves more muscular]]) than the real Tina was. |
| 160 | * ''Film/ShatteredGlass'': The real Stephen Glass was rather plain and average looking, a far cry from the handsome PrettyBoy Creator/HaydenChristensen. [[https://imageio.forbes.com/blogs-images/michaelnoer/files/2014/11/523-1940x1419111111.jpg?format=jpg&width=1200 For]] [[https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DKQRZkRXoAAnInv.jpg comparison]]. |
| 161 | * ''Film/{{Challenger}}'': The real [[https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/aa/ChristaMcAuliffe.jpg Christa McAuliffe]], while certainly not unattractive by any means, wasn't quite as photogenic as Creator/KarenAllen, lacking the latter's [[WhatBeautifulEyes distinctive eyes]]. |
| 162 | * UsefulNotes/PeterTheGreat's wife, Empress Catherine I[[note]]not to be confused with UsefulNotes/CatherineTheGreat[[/note]], looked like [[https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/34/Catherine_I_of_Russia_by_Nattier.jpg this]]. In ''Film/HowCzarPeterTheGreatMarriedOffHisMoor'', she is played by Lyudmila Chursina, who around the time of the filming looked like [[https://m.imdb.com/name/nm0161524/mediaviewer/rm71801601/?ref_=nm_md_5 this]]. |
| 163 | [[/folder]] |
| 164 | |
| 165 | [[folder:Literature]] |
| 166 | * Creator/MichaelCrichton's novel ''Literature/{{Timeline}}'' nicely plays with this trope in one chapter, in which the inventors of the time-traveling device present film footage of historical events, which they recorded in secret while being there. The first film shows UsefulNotes/AbrahamLincoln delivering the Gettysburg Address in a nasal voice, which he is actually said to have had. The second film shows UsefulNotes/GeorgeWashington crossing the Delaware in the rain, sitting in a corner and wrapped in his mantle, rather than striking the painting's iconic pose. |
| 167 | * In Creator/JTEdson's ''Calamity Jane'' novels, UsefulNotes/CalamityJane is a stacked blonde who dresses in skintight buckskins. This is at odds with photographs of the historical Calamity Jane, who could charitably be described as plain. This trope also applies to Edson's version of the outlaw Belle Starr. |
| 168 | * Played with and discussed in ''Literature/{{Animorphs}}'' "Elfangor's Secret". The kids realize that the guy they're looking for in the middle of the Battle of Agincourt is going to be the guy who looks clean and has good teeth and no sores. They also talk about it after landing on the banks of the Delaware during the Washington crossing the Delaware scene. |
| 169 | * The historical novel ''Literature/TheSunneInSplendour'', which aims to restore Richard III's reputation, is a complicated case. He's not the deformed hunchback of Shakespeare, but a handsome, ByronicHero whose alluring eyes and dark hair contrasts with his more traditionally handsome older brothers. In real life, it seems he was considered rather unremarkable compared to his older brothers, but then again they were tall and blond, which was the fashion of the times and near-contemporary images showed him as dark haired and of average height. In the book, he has no spinal deformity, only an injury from a fall from a horse, and is very athletic. |
| 170 | ** Further complicating matters, once Richard's remains were found, DNA showed that he likely had blue eyes and light hair like his brothers, although geneticists were quick to point out his hair could have darkened as an adult. And Richard, despite the scoliosis which was confirmed, was known to be physically fit and it is not thought the scoliosis would have been visible through his clothes. |
| 171 | [[/folder]] |
| 172 | |
| 173 | [[folder:Live-Action TV]] |
| 174 | * ''Series/SecretOfTheThreeKingdoms'': Compare [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Emperor_Xian_Qing_illustration.jpg Liu Xie's portrait on Wikipedia]] [[note]]which admittedly was drawn centuries after his death; no contemporary portraits survive[[/note]] with [[https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/liu_xie.jpg Ma Tian Yu as Liu Xie]]. |
| 175 | * ''Series/MoonLovers'': No portraits survive of the real Wang So and his brothers, but it's safe to assume none of them were half as good-looking as their actors here. |
| 176 | * ''Series/ThePrincessWeiYoung'': No portraits survive of Empress Dowager Feng or Emperor Wencheng, but it's safe to assume they looked nothing like [[https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/xin_er.jpg Tiffany Tang]] or [[https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/tuoba_jun.jpg Luo Jin]]. |
| 177 | * ''Series/TheKingLoves'': It's unknown what the real King Chungseon looked like, but he almost certainly wasn't [[http://res.heraldm.com/content/image/2017/07/04/20170704000767_0.jpg as handsome as Im Si-wan]]. |
| 178 | * ''Series/QueenForSevenDays'': |
| 179 | ** No portraits survive of Queen Dangyeong, but she probably didn't look [[https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/chae_gyeong.jpg like Park Min-young]]. |
| 180 | ** Similarly, no confirmed portraits survive of UsefulNotes/YeonsangunOfJoseon ([[https://qph.fs.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-3946eb0998177eef899ae9fc6ed7733a this one]] is sometimes claimed to be a portrait of him, but is also labelled as a portrait of the much later (and much saner) King Jeongjo) but we can safely say he looked nothing [[https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/lee_yung.jpg like Lee Dong-gun]]. |
| 181 | ** The only remaining portraits of Lee Yeok/King Jungjong [[https://www.worldhistory.org/uploads/images/13368.jpg?v=1612254689 show him as an old man]], but even when he was young he probably wasn't half as good-looking [[https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/lee_yeok.jpg as Yeon Woo-jin]]. |
| 182 | * ''Series/TheLongestDayInChangAn'': Portraits of the real Li Bi are scarce, but it's safe to assume [[https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DNAOD_ZU8AAm8bf.jpg he didn't look like Jackson Yee]]. |
| 183 | * ''Series/TheKingsWoman'': It's safe to say [[UsefulNotes/QinShiHuangdi the real Ying Zheng]] looked nothing like [[https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ying_zheng.jpg Vin Zhang]]. |
| 184 | * ''Series/BoardwalkEmpire'' is guilty of this with a few historical gangsters (particularly the ones who are young "baby gangsters" when the series is set, in the 1920s). Arnold Rothstein now has fangirls. Meyer Lansky and Lucky Luciano are being paired up in [[HoYay slash fanfictions]]. Never mind what kind of fans UsefulNotes/AlCapone and Bugsy Siegel are attracting. |
| 185 | * In the third series of ''Series/BlackAdder'', there's discussion about this in the episode "Duel and Duality". Baldrick suggests that he and Prince George can trade identities to avoid the UsefulNotes/TheDukeOfWellington's wrath. The Prince brings up the valid point that his portrait hangs on every wall, which is where Blackadder prompts Baldrick to quote his cousin Bert Baldrick, Mr. Gainsborough's butler's dogsbody: |
| 186 | -->'''Baldrick:''' He's heard that all portraits look the same these days, 'cos they're painted to a romantic ideal, rather than as a true depiction of the idiosyncratic facial qualities of the person in question. |
| 187 | -->'''Blackadder:''' Your cousin Bert obviously has a larger vocabulary than you do, Baldrick. |
| 188 | ** Of course, Prince George is arguably an example himself; in real life (and once in the show) he's described as being fat, while in ''Blackadder'' he's played by Creator/HughLaurie, who's anything but. |
| 189 | * [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isabella_I_of_Castile Queen Isabella of Spain]] looked extremely ordinary at best, a real far cry from [[https://i.pinimg.com/originals/eb/6c/4f/eb6c4ff5c32add81b51b0964512d763f.jpg Michelle Jenner]] in the Spanish TV series ''Isabel''. |
| 190 | * The ''Series/JohnAdams'' miniseries slightly averts this trope. While many of the actors are all very good-looking by today's standards, their characters all eventually fall prey to disadvantages that many people had to deal with in the 18th century, such as lack of dental hygiene, skin care, and modern medicine. |
| 191 | * There is an interesting variation on this trope in the HBO miniseries Series/FromTheEarthToTheMoon. The astronaut wives were generally reasonably attractive women in real life and indeed one or two of them were noted beauties in their time. However, the actresses who play them are far prettier than what the actual women were. This also holds true for the NASA and contractor staff, who were portrayed by much too good-looking actors to be believable. On the other hand, check out the crew photos of that time. |
| 192 | * ''Series/TheTudors'' is undisputed lord and master of this trope, with its parade of [[TheBeautifulElite pouty-lipped sexpots]] in GorgeousPeriodDress: |
| 193 | ** Henry VIII didn't marry UsefulNotes/AnneBoleyn until he was nearly forty-two, but in the series, he looks like he's in his late twenties or early thirties - until he abruptly ages in the fourth season. Creator/KateBeaton [[http://harkavagrant.com/index.php?id=230 has fun with this.]] Of course, gaining the weight required or wearing a fat suit large enough to be even close to realistic would have been rather detrimental to Creator/JonathanRhysMeyers' health. |
| 194 | ** Charles Brandon, Duke of Suffolk definitely qualifies. This [[https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f4/Charles_Brandon_Duke_of_Suffolk.jpg]] is the portrait of the real Charles Brandon. In the series, he is played by an almost clean-shaven Creator/HenryCavill. In fact, many of the prominent male characters qualify, including Sir Thomas More [[https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d2/Hans_Holbein%2C_the_Younger_-_Sir_Thomas_More_-_Google_Art_Project.jpg]] (played by Jeremy Northam), Thomas Cromwell [[https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c6/Cromwell%2CThomas%281EEssex%2901.jpg]] (James Frain), Thomas Cranmer [[https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2b/Thomas_Cranmer_by_Gerlach_Flicke.jpg]] (Hans Mathieson) and Edward Stafford, Duke of Buckingham [[http://www.tudorplace.com.ar/images/Stafford,Edward(3DBuckingham).jpg]] (Steven Waddington, who actually looks quite like Henry VIII in his younger years when he was still fit and considered attractive). None of them were hideous in real life, but they were definitely not nearly as handsome as the actors playing them in the series. |
| 195 | ** Possible aversion with More, who kinda looks like Northam if the latter was 10 or so years older. It's also worth noting that while Henry married Anne in his early forties, their relationship began in his mid-thirties (yes, that's really how long the annulment fight took) and even then, was still considered to be more like the Henry of 1515 than the Henry of 1545. The real weight gain and bloat didn't start until around Anne's execution. |
| 196 | ** Anne herself is an example of this, as she is in most filmed works about her. The real Anne, while far from ugly, defied the time's standards of beauty (olive-skinned, dark-eyed, and brunette, when the ideal was blonde, fair, and blue-eyed), but here she's played by the stupendously beautiful Creator/NatalieDormer. Notably, however, Dormer had a serious fight on her hands to play Anne as the brunette she truly was -- the producers wanted her to remain ''blonde'', but Dormer dug in her heels and won the argument. Nobody's really sorry about this trope, though, because Dormer turned in what has been near-universally hailed as [[AbilityOverAppearance one of the best portrayals of Anne ever put to the screen]]. |
| 197 | * ''Series/TheBorgias'': Creator/JeremyIrons is tall and slender and with a full head of hair, where the real Rodrigo Borgia resembled a short, fat, bald bulldog of a man. |
| 198 | * Even the actors aren't immune: Creator/RobinWilliams himself got this treatment in ''[[https://www.youtube.com/user/capital33333#grid/user/424F2EA974DB93AB Behind the Camera: The Unauthorized Story of Mork & Mindy]]''. In real life, Creator/RobinWilliams is, shall we say, an acquired taste due to his unique appearance. However, in this MadeForTVMovie, he's played by Chris Diamantopoulos, [[http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v482/80sFreakLurker/chris_diamantopoulos20.jpg who makes a generically attractive Robin...]] and is MrFanservice in RealLife. |
| 199 | * ''Series/LittleHouseOnThePrairie'': Michael Landon, as Charles Ingalls, was a lot better-looking than the person he portrayed on TV. Ingalls had a Santa Claus beard, but Landon was clean-shaven, even when he spent days or weeks without seeing a razor. |
| 200 | ** In the ''Little House on the Prairie'' miniseries in 2005, Charles Ingalls was played by Creator/CameronBancroft, with Hollywood hair and PermaStubble. And [[http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0183158/ Erin Cottrell]] played Caroline, a woman raised to believe it was immodest to wear her hair in a way that didn't cover her ears (in the books after the move to Silver Lake, Caroline Ingalls does specifically say that a lady doesn't show her ears), in sort of a case of Historical Coquettishness Upgrade. Even Jack the dog was better-looking than in the source material. |
| 201 | * In ''Series/SpartacusBloodAndSand'' we are shown that the Third Servile War was fundamentally a conflict between TheBeautifulElite of UsefulNotes/TheRomanRepublic and their equally beautiful [[WorldOfMuscleMen gladiators]] and [[BeautifulSlaveGirl slaves]]. Even historical figures whose appearances are actually known, such as UsefulNotes/JuliusCaesar (who was already an attractive man in real life) get major upgrades. The handful of actual ugly characters that appear in the show are almost always [[EvilMakesYouUgly minor villains]] that are sleazy even by the standards of evil on the show, such as pimps and pirates. |
| 202 | * ''Series/HitlerTheRiseOfEvil'': |
| 203 | ** [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ernst_Hanfstaengl Ernst Hanfstaengl]] is played by the much more attractive Creator/LievSchreiber. |
| 204 | ** Same goes for [[http://hitlercbs.weebly.com/uploads/1/9/5/3/19533771/3933648.jpg?328 Helene Hanfstaengl]], who was plain-looking in life and nowhere near the looks of [[https://68.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_mb4nv8mMH21r7yduto1_500.png Julianne Marguiles]]. |
| 205 | ** Likewise, Creator/JenaMalone is a ''bit'' more femininely beautiful and sexually attractive than the real-life Geli Raubal. |
| 206 | ** Ernst Rohm is played by Creator/PeterStormare in the movie, but in reality, he was far closer to the fat, balding background character who serves as his lieutenant-and later, Hitler's SS bodyguard-in the flick. |
| 207 | * The miniseries ''Series/SonsOfLiberty'' does this to Samuel Adams, where he is played by the tall, lithe, and very handsome thirtysomething Creator/BenBarnes. In reality, Sam Adams was a short, shabbily dressed man entering his early fifties by the time the Revolution started. |
| 208 | * ''Series/BandOfBrothers'': |
| 209 | ** The daughter of George Luz joked about this in an interview with the actor playing her father. "And to think that he was portrayed by such a cutie...what a little hottie." For reference, here's the real [[http://image1.findagrave.com/photos/2008/45/24650465_120311350740.jpg George Luz]] and here's [[http://starity.hu/images/celebs/years/19405/800x600/2001.jpg Rick Gomez]]. |
| 210 | ** Played with in terms of Joe Liebgott. As he was thirty-two when the war ended, he probably wasn't the PrettyBoy Creator/RossMcCall portrayed him as at age twenty-four. |
| 211 | * ''Series/{{Reign}}'' features a tall, handsome blonde Adonis as the future King Francis II of France, when in reality he was a very short child with a marked stutter. He was also only 15 when they wed, whereas the show portrays him as being quite a bit older. |
| 212 | * Used all the time in TV movies. Case in point, the 2001 Miniseries ''And Never Let Her Go'', which was based on the book of the same title about the 1996 murder of Anne Marie Fahey, zigzags this trope. While [[Series/ColdCase Kathryn Morris's]] beauty is comparable to Fahey's, the two women look ''nothing'' alike; Fahey was 5'10" and had long, curly brown hair, and Morris is average height and had short blonde hair. On the flip side, you had Creator/MarkHarmon portray Tom Capano, her lover and murderer, and the actor was both younger and ''much'' more handsome than his real-life equivalent. Also, there's the case of his ''other'' lover, Deborah [=MacEntyre=], who was rather plain-looking, she is played by [[Series/TheThornBirds Rachel Ward]] and renamed Christine Sheve. |
| 213 | ** The balding, paunchy Kenneth Parnell (the kidnapper of Steven Stayner) is played by the handsome Arliss Howard in the MiniSeries based on the story. He had to resort to wearing a pair of creepy glasses to convey what a sleazeball he was. |
| 214 | * ''Series/{{Attila}}'': Like RaceLift, this is a bit contentious in regards to the main character as no reliable description of Attila's real-life appearance has survived. However, he's usually described as short and stocky, whereas Gerard Butler is tall and handsome. Whether or not this is Roman propaganda or an accurate description of what the warlord looked like is unknown. |
| 215 | * Lampshaded by André Castelot in the introduction to ''L'Aventure de la Duchesse de Berry''. |
| 216 | -->'''André Castelot:''' Louis XVIII even used to say that nothing in her [the Duchess] was pretty, but everything was charming. Now, I need to confess something. You know that ''La Caméra Explore le Temps'' strives to be as close as possible to historical truth; well, here we took some liberties with the truth. Françoise Christophe will play the Duchess of Berry; well, everything in her is pretty, and everything in her is charming. |
| 217 | * ''Series/{{Victoria}}'': Queen Victoria would have ''killed'' to be as lovely as Creator/JennaColeman. |
| 218 | * ''Series/WolfHall'' combines this with AdaptationalAttractiveness, as the original book doesn't shy away from describing VillainProtagonist Thomas Cromwell as the fat, [[FaceOfAThug thuggish-looking]] man his portrait actually indicates, while the much smaller and more pleasant Mark Rylance plays him in the series. Henry VIII, another frequent example of this trope, counts here as well; he's broader than ''Series/TheTudors'' portrayal, but still more in the area of LargeAndInCharge than full-on AdiposeRex. |
| 219 | * ''The Vernon Johns Story'': The real Vernon Johns was a slight, thin, bespectacled man. A far cry from the burly and powerful build of James Earl Jones. |
| 220 | * The TrueCrime documentaries shown on Creator/InvestigationDiscovery engage in this trope quite a fair bit. For just one example, the murder victim in the ''Fear Thy Neighbor'' episode "Tunnel of Hate" is played by Canadian actress Annette Wozniak. Compare the [[https://static.fusionmovies.to/images/character/dOgmG6S69NQ2ADFz4jCCcDk-8FD2BZtAyPjIIKEVaniaaHHmTTf6zeZACBsZgcEa6hV_zhR78f-vyGqgcde6evVDD8_SsSbBPb7uKd8y1R8.jpg?1&resize_w=320 actress]] to the [[http://twistedphilly.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/anne-300x256.jpeg actual murder victim]]. |
| 221 | * ''Series/TheTerror'' goes multiple directions with this one. The aforementioned Ciarán Hinds is considerably taller and slimmer than the real Sir John Franklin, to say nothing of his full head of hair when the real Franklin went mostly bald early on, and what hair was there was frizzy and usually ungroomed even in his official portraits. On the other hand, it's more or less a matter of personal taste as to whether Creator/TobiasMenzies or the real James Fitzjames was more attractive- it comes down to whether the beholder prefers a round-faced man in his mid-thirties with curly reddish hair and possibly some light scarring on one cheek, or a man in his early forties with long wavy dark hair, a LanternJawOfJustice and deep laugh lines- and both had/have uneven teeth, strong noses, and hooded eyes. Francis Crozier, on the other hand, had very delicate, even features in real life, but is played by the already more rugged-looking Creator/JaredHarris having undergone a bit of BeautyInversion to look as tired and paunchy as possible. |
| 222 | * ''Series/{{Chernobyl}}'': The real Nikolai Tarakanov praised Creator/RalphIneson's portrayal of him but did note that Ineson is much better looking than he was at the time. The real Vasily Ignatenko's mother pointed out that her son had a much rounder face than Adam Nagaitis has, but it's unclear how she meant this. |
| 223 | * ''Series/TheGreat'': Like most historical soap operas, The Great gives a beauty upgrade to most of its characters. The one that is most acute, however, is Emperor Peter III, played by the gorgeous Creator/NicholasHoult. The real Peter was described as looking like a fish and disfigured by smallpox. Catherine, on the other hand, was considered a great beauty, but she didn't much resemble Elle Fanning. |
| 224 | * ''Amber's Story'': Amber Hagerman wasn't ''quite'' as pretty and beautiful as Sophie Hough, the young child actress who portrays her. |
| 225 | * ''Series/TheWhitePrincess'' casts Jacob Collins-Levy as Henry VII, and the actor's looks actually aren't that far off, if you just look up the images on Google - the only thing he's missing are Henry's notoriously bad teeth. It's the way he's styled that makes him this trope. The costumes used on the show (which, mind you, [[HollywoodCostuming aren't actually historically accurate]]) downplay his skinny figure, while his long curls and PermaStubble make him look more conventionally handsome than Henry. It doesn't help that Henry VII is one of the most interesting personalities of English history, while the series' Henry... [[AdaptationalPersonalityChange Is not.]] |
| 226 | * ''Series/TheWhiteQueen'': UsefulNotes/RichardIII was not the monstrous hunchback of Shakespeare but he also wasn't the stunningly pretty ByronicHero he is in the show. He was thought to be rather ordinary compared to his handsome older brothers. UsefulNotes/EdwardIV and Elizabeth Woodville on the other hand, while probably less attractive than the 21st Century actors who play them, were both considered exceptionally good looking for their time. |
| 227 | * Seasons 2 (titled "Vzlyot" or "Rise") and 3 ("Samozvantsi" or "Impostors") of ''Series/{{Ekaterina}}'' does this to later Paul I or Russia. You see, one of the arguments historians use for Peter III's parentage of Paul is the fact that the two bear some resemblance, and were thus both pretty ugly, whereas Paul's other potential father Sergei Saltykov was famously very handsome. Even on [[https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bc/Emperor_Paul_I_of_Russia.png official portraits]], which are often idealized, Paul bears an eerie resemblance to Michael Sheen of all people. Now, compare this to [[https://www.kino-teatr.ru/acter/album/372113/771200.jpg Pavel Tabakov]], who looks like a boyband member... |
| 228 | * [[https://s1.static.brasilescola.uol.com.br/be/conteudo/images/o-casal-reis-portugal-foi-um-dos-mais-controversos-historia-portuguesa-56be3dcf685c4.jpg This]] was the Portuguese Royal Couple João VI and Carlota Joaquina. [[https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-9lQxmDvhxr0/WVLOMXbwDmI/AAAAAAAAABg/rfxcTZLDaL8oZN6a5x--zn6OnnGMHcETQCLcBGAs/s640/carlota%2Be%2Bdom%2Bjo%25C3%25A3o.jpg These]] are them in a 2002 miniseries, where João is dead-on but Carlota goes straight into this trope (an inversion to how most of her portrayals go for the plain-looking if not homely). |
| 229 | * Brazilian emperor Pedro II married Teresa Cristina because of [[https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/65/Portrait_of_D.Teresa_Cristina.jpg/800px-Portrait_of_D.Teresa_Cristina.jpg a portrait]] that enhanced the very plain (not to mention short, slightly overweight, and walking with a limp) [[https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/3f/Teresa_cristina_of_brazil_circa_1851_frame_removed.png/800px-Teresa_cristina_of_brazil_circa_1851_frame_removed.png Italian princess]]. Come a 2021 telenovela, and the [[https://rainhastragicas.files.wordpress.com/2020/02/sabatella-e-teresa-cristina.jpg?w=584&h=438 Empress Consort sees quite the improvement]]. |
| 230 | * Davy Crockett: In real life, Davy Crockett was about 5'7" (slightly above average for a man born in 1786) with a noticeably stocky build. In the Disney episodes, he is portrayed by Fess Parker, who at 6'5" and broad-shouldered, well, let’s just say there are a lot of words one could use to describe him, but “short” and “stocky” are not two of them. |
| 231 | * ''House of Hancock'' revolves around the Australian mining magnate Lang Hancock and his daughter Gina Rinehart. The real Lang Hancock was overweight and had oily features, but is played by Creator/SamNeill, who is in much better shape. Likewise, Gina Rinehart has a noticable sunburn and heavy scowl lines but is played by Mandy [=McElhinney=] who has more pleasantly youthful features. |
| 232 | [[/folder]] |
| 233 | |
| 234 | [[folder:Theatre]] |
| 235 | * ''Theatre/CesareIlCreatoreCheHaDistrutto'' does this for a few of the historical figures that appear, most notably Giovanni de'Medici, who did not get this in the [[Manga/CesareIlCreatoreCheHaDistrutto source material]]. Cesare, though, truly was that beautiful in real life, at least before certain diseases got to him. |
| 236 | * Shakespeare's ''Theatre/HenryV'' goes to great lengths to exalt his looks when wooing the French Princess Katherine. In real life, Henry took an arrow to the face at the Battle of Shrewsbury when he was about 16 years old and was scarred enough that his is one of [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:King_Henry_V_from_NPG.jpg the few royal portraits in profile]]. This is what he looks like in the movies/TV: [[http://www.fandor.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/henryDM0402_600x442.jpeg 1944 Laurence Olivier]], [[http://i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/archive/02249/ken_2249862b.jpg 1989 Kenneth Branagh]], and [[http://www.britishmuseum.org/images/event_hiddleston_henry_V_304x384.jpg 2012 Tom Hiddleston.]] ''Clearly'', a "face not worth sunburning." |
| 237 | * [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Allen Peter Allen]], played by Creator/HughJackman in ''The Boy From Oz''. |
| 238 | * ''Theatre/{{Pippin}}'' is a Brechtian retelling of the life of Pippin the Hunchback. Guess what deformity he doesn't have in the musical. |
| 239 | [[/folder]] |
| 240 | |
| 241 | [[folder:Video Games]] |
| 242 | * Frederic Francois Chopin in ''VideoGame/EternalSonata''. While he may have been handsome in real life, the game designers decided to make him full-blown {{bishonen}}. |
| 243 | * Pretty much '''[[CastFullOfPrettyBoys everyone]]''' in ''VideoGame/SengokuBasara''. We seriously doubt that the real [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sanada_Yukimura Sanada Yukimura]] was ever the [[WalkingShirtlessScene perpetually shirtless]] {{Bishonen}} that he [[http://www.creativeuncut.com/gallery-15/sbsh-sanada-yukimura.html is in the games]] and anime. Then again, everything else in ''Sengoku Basara'' is turned up several notches as well. |
| 244 | ** Liu Bei in ''VideoGame/DynastyWarriors 6'' and ''7'' is probably the most overt example of this trope coming into effect though, since he didn't rock the ''PrettyBoy'' look until those games. |
| 245 | ** Special note goes to UsefulNotes/AkechiMitsuhide. Both ''Sengoku Basara'' and ''VideoGame/SamuraiWarriors'' portrayed him as a {{Bishonen}} (morality is another story), whereas... do you know one of the reasons he supposedly betrayed UsefulNotes/OdaNobunaga? Because the latter called him "kumquat head". |
| 246 | * ''VisualNovel/IkemenSengoku'', as a romance game whose premise is that you get to woo your choice of famous Japanese Sengoku-era warlords such as Nobunaga Oda or Ieyasu Tokugawa, makes sure that all of these warlords are as ridiculously attractive as possible. The game [[LampshadeHanging hangs a lampshade]] on the absurd attractiveness of its warlords from the very beginning by showing its main character reading a modern-day magazine about them that claims them to be "Japan's Hottest Warlords!" |
| 247 | * ''Franchise/AssassinsCreed'': |
| 248 | ** ''VideoGame/AssassinsCreedII'': |
| 249 | *** Leonardo da Vinci is a subversion; sure, he's more attractive than [[https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Leonardo_da_Vinci_-_presumed_self-portrait_-_WGA12798.jpg his famous presumed self-portrait]], but that's just because he's ''[[YoungFutureFamousPeople younger]]'' in the games, and he was actually known for being handsome and strong in his youth, meaning the portrayal is accurate. |
| 250 | *** Rodrigo Borgia aka Pope Alexander VI is [[InkSuitActor modelled after his voice actor]] rather than after his [[https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6c/Pope_Alexander_Vi.jpg historical]] [[https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0895/0864/products/xir157017_1024x1024.jpeg?v=1453118669 portraits]]. |
| 251 | ** ''VideoGame/AssassinsCreedBrotherhood'': |
| 252 | *** In RealLife, Cesare Borgia is said to have been disfigured enough by syphilis that he wore a mask in public, but here he looks like [[https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/cesare_borgia_acb_render_794.png this]]. His appearance in the game might be based on [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Cesareborgia.jpg this contemporary portrait]] that is believed to be of Borgia. |
| 253 | *** Cesare's sister Lucrezia, who's also villainous, [[HighHeelFaceTurn at least at first]] is also upgraded, in a way; while already considered a beautiful woman, she was thin and waifish, unlike the BuxomBeautyStandard game model. |
| 254 | ** ''VideoGame/AssassinsCreedOrigins'': |
| 255 | *** Cleopatra is portrayed as looking much more like her portrayal by Creator/ElizabethTaylor than the real life Cleopatra. |
| 256 | *** Julius Caesar is depicted with a full head of silver hair, when the historical man was bald, a fact he was very sensitive about. |
| 257 | * The trope is in full effect in ''VideoGame/{{Hakuouki}}''. Some of the real-life members of UsefulNotes/TheShinsengumi, such as Hijikata Toshizo, were plenty attractive on their own, while others, like Saito Hajime, were... not. Regardless, in the VisualNovel and the anime series adapted from it, they're all portrayed as gloriously {{Bishonen}}. |
| 258 | * ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfTianding'' chronicles the escapades of the titular JustLikeRobinHood hero, loosely based on a Taiwanese revolutionary icon of the same name. The real-life Tian-ding looks like [[https://www.taipeitimes.com/News/feat/archives/2015/11/15/2003632486 an average Joe]], but in video game form Tian-ding is a handsome LongHairedPrettyBoy with extremely well-defined features. |
| 259 | * ''VideoGame/ShadowHearts'' features many historical characters, few of which resemble their real-life counterparts. Most notable would have to be UsefulNotes/MataHari. While a famous beauty, the real-life Margaretha Geertruida Zelle was hardly the blue-eyed, blonde-haired [[BuxomBeautyStandard buxom bombshell]] seen in the game. Instead, she was dark-haired with dark eyes, and [[ACupAngst very modest]] in the chest department. |
| 260 | * The ''VideoGame/{{Civilization}}'' games do this to varying degrees depending on the specific game. |
| 261 | [[/folder]] |
| 262 | |
| 263 | [[folder:Webcomics]] |
| 264 | * Subverted -- or not, depending on your tastes -- by the depiction of Creator/{{Sappho}} in ''Webcomic/{{Amazoness}}!''. Ancient accounts described her as "small and dark", and the comic depicts her as ''very'' small[[note]] at least compared to the 7' tall Amazons. At 4'7" she would only be about 5" shorter than the average 5'0" ancient Greek woman[[/note]], ''very'' dark, and as a charming ButchLesbian. |
| 265 | [[/folder]] |
| 266 | |
| 267 | [[folder:Websites]] |
| 268 | * Also parodied in ''Website/TheOnion'' article [[http://www.theonion.com/content/opinion/i_would_have_been_considered I Would Have Been Considered Very Attractive In The Middle Ages]]". |
| 269 | [[/folder]] |
| 270 | |
| 271 | [[folder:Web Videos]] |
| 272 | * Parodied in the ''Funny or Die'' video ''The Sexy Dark Ages'', which makes fun of "the genre of softcore historical drama". |
| 273 | -->'''Creator/NatalieZea:''' I'm just glad that ''Creator/{{Showtime}}'' has the guts to show that, y'know, just because something happened in the past doesn't mean that everybody had to have bad teeth.\ |
| 274 | '''Daniel Sharman:''' It combines the kind of sexiness of ''Series/TheTudors'', and the kind of steaminess of ''Series/{{Camelot}}'' with just a hint of the historical eroticism of ''Series/{{Rome}}''. |
| 275 | * Also PlayedForLaughs in ''WebAnimation/UnbiasedHistory'', where every Roman emperor that the POV is from is depicted as [[Webcomic/VirginVsChad the Chad meme]]. |
| 276 | [[/folder]] |
| 277 | |
| 278 | [[folder:Western Animation]] |
| 279 | * ''WesternAnimation/LibertysKids'' did this to, more or less, every historical figure on the show. |
| 280 | * A mild example in ''WesternAnimation/OnyxEquinox'' where the characters look a bit more conforming to modern ideals of beauty while historical Mesoamericans had preferences not as liked in modern times, like molded skulls, lip and ear gaps, and stained teeth. However, most main characters are teenagers which wouldn't realistically have as many of these modifications. |
| 281 | [[/folder]] |
| 282 | |
| 283 | !!InUniverse examples |
| 284 | |
| 285 | [[folder:Comic Books]] |
| 286 | * The ''New Traveler's Almanac'' sections of the second volume of ''ComicBook/TheLeagueOfExtraordinaryGentlemen'' give an example with two contrasting accounts of a visit to Sir Lancelot's tomb a couple of centuries apart. The first one mentions a sculpture depicting Lancelot as a BarbarianLonghair, whereas [[Literature/{{Dracula}} Mina]]'s journal entries from the early 20th century describe it having been rebuilt in the intervening years with a new statue showing Lancelot as the clean-cut KnightInShiningArmor modern people have come to expect. |
| 287 | [[/folder]] |
| 288 | |
| 289 | [[folder:Literature]] |
| 290 | * ''Literature/TheWheelOfTime'': Nyneve is rather taken aback upon meeting Gaidal Cain, who, unlike his reincarnation partner Birgitte, is quite a bit uglier than the legends say. |
| 291 | * Soviet Sci-Fi novel ''Kovrigin’s chronicles'' ("A girl near a steep", "Девушка у обрыва") by Vadim Shefner. A man remarks how all the depictions of a famous scientist's girlfriend follow that trope (the scientist asked that his name not be honored through memorials and such, so the people resort to honoring her instead). |
| 292 | * ''[[Literature/ScienceFiction101 No Woman Born]]'': While waiting for Deirdre's performance, her manager Harris and scientist Maltzer watch a reenactment of the beheading of Mary, Queen of Scots, noting that the actress playing her is far too pretty, and the garb being worn by the women onstage to be too tight for the period. |
| 293 | * ''Literature/SixteenThirtyTwo'' has someone note that Princess Kristina looks nothing like Greta Garbo. To be fair, she's only a child too. For readers who are wondering, in the Garbo movie, Kristina as a child was played by Creator/CoraSueCollins. |
| 294 | * ''Literature/MortalEngines'' has the horribly disfigured Hester Shaw and the slightly scarred version of her in [[BlatantLies Professor Pennyroyal's book.]] |
| 295 | * ''Franchise/DoctorWhoExpandedUniverse'': |
| 296 | ** In the ''Literature/DoctorWhoNewAdventures'' novel ''Lucifer Rising'', a historical drama about [[Recap/DoctorWhoS6E5TheSeedsOfDeath the Ice Warrior invasion of 2090]] features a "handsome young museum curator", who is presumably meant to be [[http://tardis.wikia.com/wiki/Daniel_Eldred this guy]]. |
| 297 | ** In the ''Literature/NewSeriesAdventures'' novel ''Ghosts of India'', Donna asks the Doctor if Cleopatra was really the most beautiful woman in the world. He replies that she was the most beautiful woman in her bedchamber if the handmaidens had the day off. |
| 298 | * ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'' |
| 299 | ** The counterpart of [[Literature/TheIliad Helen of Troy]] appears in ''Literature/{{Eric}}''. Eleanor of Tsort is plump, with somewhat faded good looks and the beginnings of a mustache. After all, it's been ten years since the siege started, but no one's going to write epic poetry about rescuing a woman who's fairly attractive in a good light. |
| 300 | ** In ''Literature/{{Pyramids}}'', Gern the apprentice mummifier is criticised by his master Dil for making the Pharaoh's death mask too accurate. Dil and the sculptor discuss how it could be improved, and a shocked Gern asks if people won't notice. |
| 301 | --->'''Dil:''' Gern, certainly they'll notice. But they won't say anything. They expect us to, er, ''improve'' matters.\ |
| 302 | '''Sculptor:''' After all, you don't think they're going to step up and say "It's all wrong, he really had a face like a short-sighted chicken", do you? |
| 303 | *** Later on in the book, the protagonist Pteppic meets his ancestor Khuft, who founded Djeyli, and is surprised to find he looks a lot less like a Mighty Father of His People and more disreputable camel salesman. Because that's what he was. |
| 304 | * In TheEighties pulp series ''Doomsday Warrior'', Rona--the hero's ActionGirlfriend--is captured by [=21st=] Century Nazis and is surprised when they start fawning over her as the reincarnation of Hitler's mistress Eva Braun. She then sees a portrait of Adolf Hitler seated with a naked Eva--portrayed as a buxom redheaded AmazonianBeauty with an uncanny resemblance to Rona--[[LegCling sprawled at his feet]]. |
| 305 | * ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire'': Discussed by Brienne of Tarth, an ugly BrawnHilda who nonetheless is a KnightInShiningArmor at heart. She hopes that the songs will memorialize her favorably. |
| 306 | -->'''Brienne:''' Should we die in battle, they will surely sing of us, and it's always summer in the songs. In the songs all knights are gallant, all maids are beautiful, and the sun is always shining. |
| 307 | * It's a RunningGag in ''Literature/TheRobotsOfDawn'' that the story of [[Literature/TheNakedSun Baley's previous investigation]] was made into a "hyperwave drama" and shown on both Earth and all the Spacer worlds, with Baley himself played by a younger and more handsome actor, so everyone expects him too look similar. The actor who played Daneel was apparently a better match. |
| 308 | [[/folder]] |
| 309 | |
| 310 | [[folder:Live-Action TV]] |
| 311 | * ''Series/EightSimpleRules'' features a school play based on ''Literature/TheDiaryOfAnneFrank''. Anne gets played by Bridget - who is a [[BuxomBeautyStandard beautiful buxom blonde]] that looks nothing like the real girl. During rehearsals, she has a line where she says "I know I'm not very pretty" and bursts out laughing [[ProudBeauty at the ridiculousness of her saying such a thing]]. |
| 312 | * ''Series/ForeverKnight'': justified that the vampires look good in their flashbacks, but human Nick gets into this trope before he is turned in the first episode flashback. |
| 313 | * In ''Series/ItsAlwaysSunnyInPhiladelphia'', Frank tells a story of a {{love triangle}} from his past featuring people the gang has never met. In the flashback, the new people are played by attractive actors. When the gang meets them in real life, however, they turn out to be quite average. The gang walks off discussing how no one looks ''anything'' like they'd been imagining. |
| 314 | [[/folder]] |
| 315 | |
| 316 | [[folder:Video Games]] |
| 317 | * ''VideoGame/DarkSouls'' has an odd and fairly amusing one: the description of the powerful healing item "Elizabeth's Mushroom" in the second game describes it as a creation of St. Elizabeth, known for her potent medicines. It also describes Elizabeth as a woman of sublime beauty. Elizabeth can actually be met face-to-face in the first ''Dark Souls'' game, and [[spoiler:she is a giant talking mushroom]]. |
| 318 | * While most ''VideoGame/FateGrandOrder'' Servants are far more attractive than their real-life counterparts just because, Napoleon Bonaparte's appearance actually has an in-series explanation--rather than being the original man, he's a physical manifestation of Napoleonic ''propaganda'', and is thus much more impressive-looking ([[HistoricalHeroUpgrade and just more impressive in general]]) than the real deal ever was. |
| 319 | * ''VideoGame/BioshockInfinite'' has the City of Columbia, which praises George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and Benjamin Franklin as prophets from God. All three are given statues showing them as highly buff, even though Franklin's still keeps his distinct second chin. |
| 320 | [[/folder]] |
| 321 | |
| 322 | [[folder:Western Animation]] |
| 323 | * In ''WesternAnimation/TheFairlyOddparents'', when Timmy wants to prove that Dale Dimm was the founder of Dimmsdale, he wishes himself back 300 years ago and meets witch hunter Alden Bitterroot. However, unlike the picture Timmy is holding that shows Alden as a handsome muscular hero, the real Alden looks and acts exactly like [[IdenticalGrandson Mr. Crocker]]. |
| 324 | -->'''Timmy:''' So much for historical accuracy. |
| 325 | * On ''WesternAnimation/StevenUniverse'' Steven and Connie read the account of Buddy, one of the historical founders of Beach City. As they imagine his travels, they picture him as their friend Jamie the mailman, who played Buddy in a town play. At the end of the episode, they find Buddy's actual portrait, which is much less flattering. They decide they like their version better. |
| 326 | [[/folder]] |
http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/context.php
FollowingContext Main / HistoricalBeautyUpdate
Go To
- Show Spoilers
- Night Vision
- Sticky Header
- Wide Load
