Helena Bonham Carter can get into character like no other! Having often worked closely with her fantastical filmmaker ex, Tim Burton, she's completely morphed her appearance for roles, taking on a majestic queen, an enchanting sorceress, a rebellious ape and everything in between. In honor of the "Ocean's 8" star's 53rd birthday on May 26, 2019, Wonderwall.com rounded up her most drastic movie transformations over the years. Keep reading to uncover Helena's many faces in film…
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2010: "Alice in Wonderland"
Helena Bonham Carter looked like a self-proclaimed "cartoon version of Elizabeth I" while playing the devilish Red Queen in 2010's big-screen adaptation of "Alice in Wonderland." Along with wearing a three-pound wig, she underwent a grueling makeup process to get into character. "It takes about three hours," she told Rotten Tomatoes. "I'd get my head pasted down, my hair wrapped. Then, they'd wrap me in a cocoon, and I'd get to lie down and sleep while they painted me. When I wake up two hours later, I'm a really unattractive bald alien." Despite such a lengthy costume transformation each day, Helena reprised her role for the movie's sequel, "Alice Through the Looking Glass," in 2016.
2015: "Cinderella"
Bibbidi bobbidi boo! Helena Bonham Carter transformed into the magical wand-wielding Fairy Godmother for the live-action version of Disney's "Cinderella" in 2015. Wearing a twinkling light-up gown and blonde wig for the role, she still managed to find a few similarities between herself and her glowing character. "Unfortunately I can't transform things, like pumpkins into vehicles," she joked to Vogue UK. "But the scattiness and the absent-mindedness, definitely. I mean, she's obviously magical and slightly not there — and a lot of the time I'm slightly not here."
2001: "Planet of the Apes"
Helena Bonham Carter underwent a drastic makeover to play rebellious chimpanzee Ari in 2001's "Planet of the Apes," which required up to four hours in the makeup chair every day. While the end result was unbelievable, Helena admitted that working in such heavy costume had its challenges. "It was very cumbersome and crippling," she revealed to Cinema.com. "Not only was it nearly impossible to hear because of these huge rubber ears we had to wear, but we also had these huge furry hands which were absolutely useless, especially if you had to scratch yourself somewhere." Helena, who was covered in layers of silicone, added that going to the bathroom might have been the hardest thing to do while in costume.
2007: "Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street"
Helena Bonham Carter tapped deep into her dark side to play baker Mrs. Lovett in the 2007 film "Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street." Looking more distraught than ever, her character acted as an accomplice to serial killer Sweeney Todd, baking body parts from his victims into her famous meat pies to hide the evidence. Judging by her disheveled, frizzy hair and the dark circles under her eyes, it's clear she nailed the look.
2013: "The Lone Ranger"
Though Helena Bonham Carter only had a minor role in the 2013 Western flick "The Lone Ranger," her satirical wardrobe as a brothel madam stole the show. "I couldn't pass up being a peg-legged whore with a gun in her leg," she joked to "Bring Me the News" of her fiery costume that featured a corset and an enormous red wig. "Victorian-era prostitutes always wore the nicest clothes that were so full of color, so I knew from the costume standpoint, I'd be bliss-filled."
1997: "The Theory of Flight"
Helena Bonham Carter is no stranger to dressing up like an aristocrat for her numerous roles in period costume dramas, but she took a drastic turn in the opposite direction for 1997's "The Theory of Flight." Helena was unrecognizable in the role of wheelchair-bound Jane Hatchard, a paraplegic suffering from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). She sported baggy cargo pants and a choppy, short 'do for the part as well.
2012: "Les Misérables"
Helena Bonham Carter took a trip back in time to 19th century France for the 2012 adaptation of "Les Misérables." Her frenzied look helped her embody Madame Thénardier, a deceptive innkeeper who turns to a life of swindling and petty theft. "As pickpockets and ruffians, they were expressing a kind of freedom," the film's costume designer, Paco Delgado, has said of working on Helena's wardrobe. "It was refreshing to represent that with a freer use of fabric and color." Along with era-appropriate corseted dresses, Helena wore a voluminous, tangled blonde wig.
2012: "Dark Shadows"
Helena Bonham Carter got campy as she transformed into a dysfunctional live-in psychiatrist with a drinking problem for the 2012 film "Dark Shadows." Though she initially wanted to play a witch in the gothic soap-opera-style horror movie, Tim Burton convinced her to take on a character she hadn't tried before. With a flippy orange bob and gaudy blue eyeshadow, Helena totally embraced her vain character.
1999: "Fight Club"
It wasn't that difficult for Helena Bonham Carter to get into character as the deranged, chain-smoking Marla Singer in 1999's "Fight Club" because she has an affinity for disturbed personas. "I definitely like damaged people," she told AV Film. "I've got an affection for them. My mom's a psychotherapist, and it's always interesting to watch why people have developed the way they have." Drawn towards eccentricity, it makes sense that Helena's portrayal helped the movie become a cult classic.
2003: "Big Fish"
Helena Bonham Carter just loves to portray a witch on the big screen, no matter how tedious the costume process can be. For her role as The Witch in 2003's "Big Fish," she spent five to six hours in the makeup chair each day to prepare. "It's always silicone pieces," she once said. "It's basically a patchwork that they submerge your face in and then glue and then stick it all on. And then they paint you and then they get rid of the edges. And it's completely torturous. I don't really know how I did it." It paid off though, as Helena — eyepatch and all — looked spookier than ever.
2012: "Great Expectations"
Helena Bonham Carter metamorphosed into Miss Havisham for the big-screen adaptation of Charles Dickens' "Great Expectations" in 2012. After being jilted at the altar, Helena's scorned spinster character never takes off her wedding dress, making the piece a staple of her wardrobe. "I was very much influenced by Alexander McQueen's SS13 oyster dress," the film's costume designer, Beatrix Aruna Pasztor, told Stylist. "It's simple but beautiful and a wonderful example of how material can be used and layered to create a dramatic silhouette." Helena loved the dress so much, Beatrix added, "she actually asked whether she could have it to wear on the red carpet."
2007: "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix"
Helena Bonham Carter actually had quite a bit of say in creating her dark wizarding costume for "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" in 2007. To play the part of evil Bellatrix Lestrange, a Death Eater, she came up with the idea to wear fake rotten teeth and a corset. "I wanted her to be sexy and revolting at the same time," she told Entertainment Weekly. Helena reprised her savage role in the three subsequent "Harry Potter" films.
2010: "The King's Speech"
It was a role that earned Helena Bonham Carter Oscar and Golden Globe Award nominations: She starred as a youthful Queen Elizabeth (who was later known as the Queen Mother) in 2010's "The King's Speech." She admitted that playing a real-life royal came with a lot of pressure. "I was apprehensive. Very apprehensive," Helena told The Telegraph. "She's such an iconic figure and yet you have to go beyond that to build up a believable character. The biggest task was trying to find some inner dimension to her other than playing the sweet, docile, archetypical wife." Despite her concerns, Helena managed to perfectly portray the young queen down to her regal attire.
1985: "Lady Jane"
Dubbed the "Queen of Costume Dramas," Helena Bonham Carter has been playing royals from the very beginning of her acting career. In her first part ever, she took on Lady Jane Grey, the 16th century de facto queen of England, for the 1985 period piece "Lady Jane." Dressed to the nines, Helena wore intricate headpieces and fabulously bejeweled gowns. At the time, she had no idea this would be the first of many lavish Elizabethan roles she'd undertake.
2005: "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory"
Since she's known for her outlandish costumes on the big screen, there's something to be said for Helena Bonham Carter's quite-ordinary look as Mrs. Bucket in 2005's "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory." Helena was unrecognizable as she transformed into an impoverished mother. Though she sported fake capped teeth for the role, she still looked abnormally natural in her costume.