Actors Who Were De-Aged for Roles Using Special Visual Effects

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Harrison Ford in ‘Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny’

Lucasfilm Ltd.; Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic

Speaking toEmpire, Ford shared that the VFX software used to de-age him was eerily impressive.

“This is the first time I’ve seen it where I believe it,“he said of the tech. “It’s a little spooky,” Ford continued. “I don’t think I even want to know how it works, but it works.”

02of 13Samuel L. Jackson in ‘Captain Marvel’Chuck Zlotnick/Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures/Marvel Studios/Courtesy Everett Collection; Mike Marsland/WireImageSamuel L. Jacksongot a 25-year de-aging treatment as Agent Nick Fury in the 2019 filmCaptain Marvel. While it wasn’t the first time the superhero studio used the technology, it was certainly the most they’d used it, since Jackson appeared on screen so frequently. In order to capture his youthful look, the special effects team referenced a number of his ’90s works, likeDie Hard with a Vengeance,The Negotiatorand theStar WarsprequelThe Phantom Menace.“It was pretty amazing,” Marvel special effects supervisor Janelle Croshaw Ralla toldInsider. “You could go back to those movies and find exact frames where he looked exactly the same, like the exact same expression. He was just aged.“Jackson took to social media to share his appreciation for the tech, posting anInstagramphoto of his de-aged self in character. “Wow, this Marvel de-aging thing is doper than I thought!” he said in the caption.

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Samuel L. Jackson in ‘Captain Marvel’

Chuck Zlotnick/Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures/Marvel Studios/Courtesy Everett Collection; Mike Marsland/WireImage

Samuel L. Jacksongot a 25-year de-aging treatment as Agent Nick Fury in the 2019 filmCaptain Marvel. While it wasn’t the first time the superhero studio used the technology, it was certainly the most they’d used it, since Jackson appeared on screen so frequently. In order to capture his youthful look, the special effects team referenced a number of his ’90s works, likeDie Hard with a Vengeance,The Negotiatorand theStar WarsprequelThe Phantom Menace.

“It was pretty amazing,” Marvel special effects supervisor Janelle Croshaw Ralla toldInsider. “You could go back to those movies and find exact frames where he looked exactly the same, like the exact same expression. He was just aged.”

Jackson took to social media to share his appreciation for the tech, posting anInstagramphoto of his de-aged self in character. “Wow, this Marvel de-aging thing is doper than I thought!” he said in the caption.

03of 13Robert De Niro in ‘The Irishman’Netflix/Courtesy Everett Collection; Frazer Harrison/Getty ImagesIt took several years of planning to successfully execute the extensive de-aging process ofRobert De NiroinThe Irishman. De Niro played Frank Sheeran over the course of 50 years, meaning his character would certainly need to appear both young and old throughout the film. Director Martin Scorcese began collaborating with George Lucas’ special effects company, Industrial Light & Magic, four years before the movie premiered.According to theL.A. Times, de-aging the 76-year-old actor — as well as his costars, like Al Pacino — required brand new tech, especially since the cast refused to allow motion-capture tech intrude on their scene work. The end result combined the efforts of visual effects professionals, makeup artists, costume designers and sound engineers.

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Robert De Niro in ‘The Irishman’

Netflix/Courtesy Everett Collection; Frazer Harrison/Getty Images

It took several years of planning to successfully execute the extensive de-aging process ofRobert De NiroinThe Irishman. De Niro played Frank Sheeran over the course of 50 years, meaning his character would certainly need to appear both young and old throughout the film. Director Martin Scorcese began collaborating with George Lucas’ special effects company, Industrial Light & Magic, four years before the movie premiered.

According to theL.A. Times, de-aging the 76-year-old actor — as well as his costars, like Al Pacino — required brand new tech, especially since the cast refused to allow motion-capture tech intrude on their scene work. The end result combined the efforts of visual effects professionals, makeup artists, costume designers and sound engineers.

04of 13Robert Downey Jr. in ‘Captain America: Civil War’Marvel Studios/Kobal/Shutterstock; Rindoff Petroff/Getty ImagesThanks to de-aging tech, viewers saw a youngerRobert Downey Jr.during oneCaptain America: Civil Warflashback scene. Trent Claus, who supervises visual effects at the award-winning company Lola VFX, explained the de-aging process toThe Hollywood Reporter, comparing it to Photoshop but with more frames to alter.“One thing that happens to all of us is that the skin of the face gradually lowers in certain areas, and needs to be ‘lifted’ back to where it was at the age in question,” Claus said of Downey Jr.’s transformation into a younger Tony Stark. He added that “working with the appearance of a well-known actor” added the “pressure of living up to the youthful appearance that audiences remember.”

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Robert Downey Jr. in ‘Captain America: Civil War’

Marvel Studios/Kobal/Shutterstock; Rindoff Petroff/Getty Images

Thanks to de-aging tech, viewers saw a youngerRobert Downey Jr.during oneCaptain America: Civil Warflashback scene. Trent Claus, who supervises visual effects at the award-winning company Lola VFX, explained the de-aging process toThe Hollywood Reporter, comparing it to Photoshop but with more frames to alter.

“One thing that happens to all of us is that the skin of the face gradually lowers in certain areas, and needs to be ‘lifted’ back to where it was at the age in question,” Claus said of Downey Jr.’s transformation into a younger Tony Stark. He added that “working with the appearance of a well-known actor” added the “pressure of living up to the youthful appearance that audiences remember.”

05of 13Jeff Bridges in ‘Tron: Legacy’Walt Disney Productions/Kobal/Shutterstock; Kevin Winter/Getty ImagesIn revisiting his originalTroncharacter, Clu, Jeff Bridges also had to revisit the age he was when appeared in the 1982 film. The sequelTron: Legacygrafted Bridges’ 35-year-old skin onto the actor — then age 61 — in one of Hollywood’s earliest uses of de-aging technology.“It’s bizarre. It’s great news for me, because now it means I can play myself at any age,“Bridges saidaround the time of the movie’s premiere in 2010.

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Jeff Bridges in ‘Tron: Legacy’

Walt Disney Productions/Kobal/Shutterstock; Kevin Winter/Getty Images

In revisiting his originalTroncharacter, Clu, Jeff Bridges also had to revisit the age he was when appeared in the 1982 film. The sequelTron: Legacygrafted Bridges’ 35-year-old skin onto the actor — then age 61 — in one of Hollywood’s earliest uses of de-aging technology.

“It’s bizarre. It’s great news for me, because now it means I can play myself at any age,“Bridges saidaround the time of the movie’s premiere in 2010.

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Jennifer Connelly in ‘American Pastoral’

Richard Foreman/Shutterstock; Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images

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Brad Pitt in ‘The Curious Case of Benjamin Button’

The clock ran backwards forBrad Pitt’s titular character in 2008’sThe Curious Case of Benjamin Button, so there was ample need for de-aging technology throughout the movie. The actor, who was 44 at the time of filming, needed to appear both old and young, since the plot revolved around his character’s rare reverse-aging disorder.

The film won the Academy Awards for Best Visual Effects and Best Makeup and Hairstyling, all of which contributed to the on-screen illusion of Pitt’s change in appearance throughout the film. Even the man under the tech and prosthetics appreciated the look into his future.

“I had a little control over it. I got to shape it and sculpt it,” Pitt told PEOPLE of his older appearance in 2009. “I doubt gravity and time will be that kind.”

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Paul Reubens in ‘Pee-wee’s Big Holiday’

Glen Wilson/Netflix/Courtesy Everett Collection; Mike Pont/WireImage

09of 13Johnny Depp in ‘Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales’Disney; Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagicThe fifthPirates of the Caribbeanmovie featured a young Captain Jack Sparrow in a long flashback scene, one that required serious de-aging behind the scenes.Johnny Deppappeared in younger pirate form thanks to a combination of CGI and the help of another actor.“Johnny would do the performance, and then we would have the body double watch Johnny to the smallest detail,” Gary Brozenich of Moving Picture Company toldInverseabout the anti-aging magic brought to the 2017 flick. “What that gave us, the VFX team, was a target for what younger skin looks like: how it reacts, how, sadly, young flesh moves differently to older flesh.”

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Johnny Depp in ‘Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales’

Disney; Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic

The fifthPirates of the Caribbeanmovie featured a young Captain Jack Sparrow in a long flashback scene, one that required serious de-aging behind the scenes.Johnny Deppappeared in younger pirate form thanks to a combination of CGI and the help of another actor.

“Johnny would do the performance, and then we would have the body double watch Johnny to the smallest detail,” Gary Brozenich of Moving Picture Company toldInverseabout the anti-aging magic brought to the 2017 flick. “What that gave us, the VFX team, was a target for what younger skin looks like: how it reacts, how, sadly, young flesh moves differently to older flesh.”

10of 13Anthony Hopkins in ‘Westworld’Hbo/Kobal/Shutterstock; Greg Doherty/Getty ImagesThough de-aging technology is mostly used in major blockbuster films, HBO’sWestworldbrought in the tech for a flashback withAnthony Hopkins’ character Dr. Ford. The show’s visual effects supervisor, Jay Worth, spoke toThrillistabout the youth-restoring task that made the scene possible.According to Worth, they referenced past films and photos of a young Hopkins, who was 78 at the time of production, but the effects team had a bit of creative flexibility with his flashback appearance since the audience was theoretically less familiar with Hopkins’ earlier work.“America doesn’t really remember Sir Tony beforeSilence of the Lambs. Obviously we found every reference we could from every movie and every photo and everything from the correct timeframe,” said Worth. “But it really came down to what feels most like our character in the past, as much as anything.”

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Anthony Hopkins in ‘Westworld’

Hbo/Kobal/Shutterstock; Greg Doherty/Getty Images

Though de-aging technology is mostly used in major blockbuster films, HBO’sWestworldbrought in the tech for a flashback withAnthony Hopkins' character Dr. Ford. The show’s visual effects supervisor, Jay Worth, spoke toThrillistabout the youth-restoring task that made the scene possible.

According to Worth, they referenced past films and photos of a young Hopkins, who was 78 at the time of production, but the effects team had a bit of creative flexibility with his flashback appearance since the audience was theoretically less familiar with Hopkins' earlier work.

“America doesn’t really remember Sir Tony beforeSilence of the Lambs. Obviously we found every reference we could from every movie and every photo and everything from the correct timeframe,” said Worth. “But it really came down to what feels most like our character in the past, as much as anything.”

11of 13Mark Hamill in ‘The Mandalorian’Disney+/Lucasfilm/Courtesy Everett Collection; Frazer Harrison/Getty ImagesThe Mandalorianseason 2 finale saw a cameo fromMark Hamill, who returned to his iconic role of Luke Skywalker — and looked the part. Hamill’s youthful appearance as the beloved Jedi was made possible with CGI, but the actor — who was nearly 70 when the episode was filmed — shut down any skepticism about his involvement in filming.“This is for those who claimed the character was accomplished exclusively with CGI, without my participation,” theactor wrote online, retweeting a behind the scenes photo of himself in costume and on set.

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Mark Hamill in ‘The Mandalorian’

Disney+/Lucasfilm/Courtesy Everett Collection; Frazer Harrison/Getty Images

The Mandalorianseason 2 finale saw a cameo fromMark Hamill, who returned to his iconic role of Luke Skywalker — and looked the part. Hamill’s youthful appearance as the beloved Jedi was made possible with CGI, but the actor — who was nearly 70 when the episode was filmed — shut down any skepticism about his involvement in filming.

“This is for those who claimed the character was accomplished exclusively with CGI, without my participation,” theactor wrote online, retweeting a behind the scenes photo of himself in costume and on set.

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Michael Douglas in ‘Ant-Man’

Marvel Studios; Bryan Bedder/Getty Images

“I was incredibly nervous,” said Reed. “If that effect didn’t come off, it’s the first scene in the movie …” He also added that the final product on screens combined elements of the body double and the digitally de-aged Douglas. “From my standpoint, we wanted to gather as much material for Lola [VFX] to have at their disposal to create this effect.”

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Michelle Pfeiffer in ‘Ant-Man and The Wasp’

Marvel Studios; Christopher Polk/Getty Images

source: people.com