Actors, for the sake of their starring roles, make many sacrifices in terms of appearance: they lose weight before anorexia, then they gain weight before they become obese, then they shave off their hair, then ... they change into women! Yes, and so masterfully, the characters in the films do not even realize that the woman standing in front of them with wonderful curls is actually a man.
And the audience themselves sometimes forget about the mismatch of gender, because the actors brilliantly cope with the task assigned to them.
We will talk about the 10 best incarnations of actors in female characters. And we will focus not only on light comedy films, but also on heavy drama with deep content and purpose. Such films expose the cruelty of society and the unwillingness to accept people who are not like themselves.
List
- 10. Quentin Crisp, Orlando
- 9. Robin Williams, Mrs. Doutfire
- 8. Lee Pace, Soldier Girl
- 7. John Travolta, “Hairspray”
- 6. Killiana Murphy, “Breakfast on Pluto”
- 5. Alexander Kalyagin, “Hello, I am your aunt!”
- 4. Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon, “Only Girls Are in Jazz”
- 3. Dustin Hoffman, Tootsie
- 2. Charlie Chaplin, “Woman”
- 1. Eddie Redmayne, “Girl from Denmark”
10. Quentin Crisp, Orlando
In the film, the female role is played by actor Quentin Crisp and he plays Queen Elizabeth I. According to the plot, the aging queen is fascinated by a young aristocrat named Orlando and orders him never to grow old.
Inexplicably, Orlando fulfills the request and lives for many centuries, maintaining his young man's appearance. Orlando travels and lives without regard to age, once even falling in love with a Russian princess. But disappointed in the girl and leaves for Arabia as ambassador.
One morning, Orlando wakes up in his apartment, but feels significant changes in his own body. It turns out that now he has to live in a female form and change his usual way of adventure and entertainment.
9. Robin Williams, Mrs. Doutfire
A drama and comedy film suitable for family viewing. The director of the picture was Chris Columbus, and Robin Williams was unsurpassed in managing the female role.
The plot tells the story of a man named Daniel, who happens to have many unpleasant events at one time. First, he is fired from work, then his wife announces her decision to divorce, and even allows her father to see his children once a week!
Then the man comes up with a gamble that solves all three of his problems at once: unemployment, divorce and the inability to see his own children. Daniel disguises herself as an elderly woman, calls herself “Mrs. Doutfire,” and settles in as a housekeeper to her ex-wife. Of course, from the moment Daniel crosses the threshold of his own house in a women's dress, the plot will begin to develop in the most unpredictable way.
8. Lee Pace, Soldier Girl
A dramatic film about a young soldier of the American army, Barry Winchel, who, on dismissal, meets a singer in a nightclub and is completely fascinated by the girl.
He appoints a date on which he learns that the girl he loves is a transgender, preparing for a sex change. But this does not stop the protagonist.
Men continue to meet, fall in love with each other more and more, until his fellow soldiers find out about the novel of a soldier, who decide to take revenge on Winchel for communication with a man.
The denouement of the story comes abruptly and unexpectedly, leaving the viewer with the desire to rewind the film and try to correct the situation.
7. John Travolta, “Hairspray”
A musical film, it will definitely appeal to all lovers of music and dance films. Vivid images, costumes, sparkle, smiles of the main characters and fiery songs - it is impossible not to sing along or to dance from the spectacle taking place on the screen.
John Travolta plays in this film the mother of the main character - Tracy. Daily makeup was imposed on John for 4 hours, and the actor’s costume weighed 13 kilograms! John did not want to agree to this role for a long time, so Robin Williams and Tom Hanks were offered to play the mother of the main character. But Travolta nevertheless agreed and eventually successfully completed the task.
6. Killiana Murphy, “Breakfast on Pluto”
Patrick Braden is a young transvestite and illegitimate son of a priest. Patrick knows that he is different from the rest, and everyone else is well aware that the guy is a white crow and he does not belong to “normal” people. From the scoffs and cruelty of strangers, Patrick is saved only by his incredible charisma and charm.
Soon, the young man realizes that in his hometown he is completely nothing and no one is holding, then he decides to move to London, setting out to find his mother.
The big city immediately fascinates Patrick, striking with the breadth of views and tolerance of local residents. However, Patrick will soon experience all the unpleasant and acute character traits of the inhabitants of London.
5. Alexander Kalyagin, “Hello, I am your aunt!”
A film by the Soviet director Viktor Titov, released on screens in 1975. The main role is played by Alexander Kalyagin, who, according to the script, needs to dress as a woman and help the young men marry their lovers.
This is one of those Soviet comedies that Russian-speaking viewers love to watch at least once a year, along with The Irony of Fate or The Diamond Arm.
Easy and funny plot, nice characters and comical situations do not let the viewer go and one and a half hours of timing fly like one minute.
4. Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon, “Only Girls Are in Jazz”
Classic black and white comedy. The film tells about two musicians Joe and Jerry, who become occasional witnesses of a gang shootout and now they have to urgently leave the city on the nearest train, which will take the heroes to Florida.
Men change their appearance with cosmetics and women's dresses, introduce themselves as Josephine and Daphne, now playing in a female jazz group.
The disguise works for a long time until the soloist of the group falls in love with Josephine, an aging playboy in Daphne, and the mafia boss realizes what kind of people are hiding under women's dresses.
3. Dustin Hoffman, Tootsie
Dustin Hoffman, who plays actor Michael Dorsey with a bad career, dresses up in a female dress in this film. Michael is not approved for the role, they are not called for tests, and in general the heavy character of the man does not allow him to develop in the acting sphere.
Then Michael decides to start from scratch: disguises himself as a girl, thinks up a new name for himself, and soon realizes that his female alter ego is liked by other people, and Michael very soon finds work in his new guise.
It seems that everything is finally starting to improve, but how now to build a relationship with a girl with whom Michael has long been in love?
2. Charlie Chaplin, “Woman”
Charlie Chaplin for this short film acts as an actor, and as a director, and as a screenwriter. In the story, Charlie is trying to charm a girl whom she accidentally met in the park, but another man who has been dating this girl for a long time interferes with him.
From anger, Charlie pushes the opponent into the water, and he meets another girl who was relaxing in the park with her mother. They immediately invite Charlie to his house for dinner, to which the man agrees, very happy with such an acquaintance.
But having come to visit, Charlie discovers that the father of the family is the same man whom Chaplin pushed into the river! The main character shaves off his mustache and changes into the clothes of his new girlfriend, introducing himself to the man as his daughter’s girlfriend.
1. Eddie Redmayne, “Girl from Denmark”
The main role in the film is played by Eddie Redmayne, who plays the husband of the artist Gerda Wegener.
Gerda asks Einar to pose for him in women's clothing for writing new paintings. The husband agrees and the paintings will be a resounding success, allowing Einar to increasingly wear women's clothing for posing for new paintings.
Einar soon realizes that he likes to transform into his alteg ego. He gives his female appearance the name of Lily Elbe, and then completely decides on a sex change operation.