Asymmetrical smiles, unconventional features, and one-of-a-kind traits—far from holding them back, these quirks are precisely what allowed these celebrities to rise above the noise in a fiercely competitive industry.
In a world obsessed with polished perfection, they refused to conform. Instead, they leaned into what made them different, proving that real beauty comes from embracing the imperfections that tell our stories—each one a reflection of resilience, individuality, and strength.
From gapped teeth and crooked noses to intense stares and angular faces, their features became trademarks, shaping unforgettable performances and redefining what it means to be captivating.
#1 Willem Dafoe
Part sinister, part soulful, always captivating. Dafoe’s face, decorated by wide cheekbones, a wide smile, and deep creases, has helped him bring both heroic and villainous roles to life.
From Jesus in The Last Temptation of Christ, to the Green Goblin in Sam Reimi’s Spiderman, Dafoe’s unique features have made him instantly recognizable no matter what character he plays.
“I’ve learned I have a distinctive face. Something that I didn’t know,” Dafoe said, recounting an encounter with a gang in the subway near the Bronx.
“Something bad is gonna happen,” the actor said to himself when the men boarded the train.
“Because they were looking kinda mean and then they were looking at each other. Then I heard one guy say ‘Yeah, it’s got to be him. Nobody looks like that mother**ker.’ That’s when I knew.”
Image credits: Georges Biard / Wikipedia
#2 Tilda Swinton
Whether portraying a vampire, an archangel, or a modern fashion icon, Swinton’s androgynous features have always been part of her mystique.
According to her fans, her translucent skin, angular frame, and ethereal presence have made her one of the most visually compelling and flexible actors of our time.
But she’s also aware of how much her appearance challenges convention—and she leans into it. “I never wanted to look like anyone else,” she once said, “and I never wanted to be anyone else.” And thank goodness for that.
Image credits: Andreas Rentz / Getty Images
#3 Rami Malek
For many of Malek’s fans his enormous, almond-shaped eyes are like magnets—holding their attention whether he’s playing a shy hacker in Mr. Robot or channeling Freddie Mercury in Bohemian Rhapsody.
His unusual appearance once made casting directors hesitant, but he’s since flipped that narrative entirely being described as going from being a “professional outcast,” to an Oscar winning actor.
Image credits: Samir Hussein / Getty Images
#4 Michael Berryman
Berryman was born with hypohidrotic ectodermal dysplasia, a rare condition that affects bone and hair growth. The condition made him the target of bullying as a kid, but even then he displayed the resilience to turn his supposed defect into a strength.
“I was pretty well grounded. I was being teased and whatever and I didn't have anger skills, so I would go to the parents and say your children are brats and tell them they were bad parents,” he recalled.
His features allowed him to portray various characters in several horror, science fiction, and fantasy productions.
Image credits: michaelberryman_official / Instagram
#5 Gwendoline Christie
Towering at 6'3", Christie was often told growing up that she’d never be cast in anything due to her height. But after playing Brienne of Tarth in HBO’s Game of Thrones, she didn’t just prove them wrong—she became an icon.
“Playing Brienne of Tarth changed my life. I feel emotional,” she said in an interview with The Guardian.
Christie nowadays embraces her commanding presence and bold features with elegance, turning what was once considered a casting obstacle into her greatest strength. However, it wasn’t always that way, as she was bullied in school for her height.
That’s what led her to acting, as she felt inspired by actors such as Marlon Brando and Tilda Swinton, known for transforming themselves with each performance.
Image credits: Kate Green / Getty Images
#6 Steve Buscemi
With his bulging eyes, uneven teeth, and angular face, Buscemi might not fit traditional leading-man expectations—but that hasn’t stopped him from becoming a legend in his own right.
From iconic appearances in Reservoir Dogs, Fargo, and Boardwalk Empire, Buscemi captivated audiences with his intensity and authenticity, going as far as to become the face of various internet memes and joke templates.
“I like the struggles that people have, people who are feeling like they don't fit into society,” he said, reflecting on the types of characters he likes to play. “Because I still sort of feel that way.”
Image credits: Beth Herzhaft / Wikipedia
#7 Benedict Cumberbatch
Often described as having “alien-like” features, Cumberbatch has fully leaned into his unconventional looks.
His high forehead, sloped eyes, and sharp cheekbones give him a sharp and inquisitive character that fits perfectly with intellectual roles such as Sherlock Holmes or Doctor Strange.
Image credits: Sam Hughes / Wikipedia
#8 Barbra Streisand
Long before body positivity had a name, Streisand was living it. The iconic singer and actress was advised repeatedly to get a nose job to conform to Hollywood’s beauty standards, but she refused—arguing it would change her voice, and more importantly, her identity.
“My nose was part of my heritage,” she said, referencing her Jewish background. “And if I had talent to sing and to act, why wasn’t that enough?”
The decision paid massive dividends, as it didn’t just preserve her unique look—it helped make it iconic. Her nose became so recognizable that it contributed to her magnetic presence on screen and stage, distinguishing her from other female stars of the era.
Image credits: Movie studio / Wikipedia
#9 Javier Bardem
The actor’s face tells a story. His weathered features, crooked smile, and deep, soulful eyes have long been praised by his fanbase.
While not being what many would consider conventionally attractive, critics cite his features as essential tools to give depth to his characters.
Image credits: Jon Kopaloff / Getty Images
#10 Elijah Wood
With impossibly large blue eyes and a face that hasn’t aged much since his Lord of the Rings days, Wood possesses a kind of youthfulness that’s always set him apart.
While he leaned into his “boyish” charm early on, but as he transitioned into more eccentric roles in movies like Wilfred and Come to Daddy, his wide-eyed vulnerability became a secret weapon.
Image credits: Frazer Harrison / Getty Images
#11 Keira Knightley
After her career exploded following the success of the first Pirates of the Caribbean, the 40-year-old actress found herself receiving more offers than she had time to accept.
Her performances in films like Pride & Prejudice and Atonement further endeared her to the public, as well as cemented her as a critics favorite.
Her teeth—particularly her front teeth—have long been a trademark of the actress. Instead of filing them to conform to a more standard appearance, Knightley has embraced her quirk.
For instance, in a 2024 appearance on The Graham Norton Show, she delighted Cher by performing her hit Believe by flicking her teeth with her fingernails.
Image credits: GabboT / Flickr
#12 Eddie Redmayne
Known for his freckled skin, narrow frame, and expressive features, the actor’s vulnerable, yet enchanting presence has allowed him to embody complex roles such as Stephen Hawking in 2014’s The Theory of Everything, and Lili Elbe in 2015’s The Danish Girl.
“I’ve played women since I was a kid and I’ve always enjoyed it,” he said in an interview.
Image credits: Montclair Film / Flickr
#13 Joaquin Phoenix
Considered by fans to be one of the most versatile and enigmatic actors working today, Phoenix has fully embraced his lip scar as a tool to add gravitas and realism to his characters.
The mark is a result of a microform cleft lip, the mildest version of the birth defect caused by the upper lift not fully closing during fetal development, and has provided the actor’s roles with a subtle aura of grit.
Whether playing Johnny Cash in Walk the Line or Arthur Fleck in Joker, his unique appearance has become part of his emotional range. While others might have sought to hide such a trait, Phoenix made it part of his tool repertoire.
Image credits: Tony Shek / Wikipedia
#14 Adam Driver
Before becoming the unlikely heartthrob of a generation, Driver was often told he didn’t have the face for leading roles. It’s exactly that raw, unfiltered appeal that’s turned him into a cinematic force, from Girls to Marriage Story.
In a 2023 interview with Chris Wallace, Driver was asked for his opinion on a New Yorker article that compared him to Al Pacino and Jack Nicholson.
“Well, the New Yorker has also called me a ‘horse-face,’” he said, laughing. “So I take it with a grain of salt.”
“I look how I look. I can’t change that, so I guess it helped me,” he continued.
Image credits: Leon Bennett / Getty Images
#15 Bill Skarsgård
“There’s something both sweet and dark about him,” a fan said. “It’s like he was born to play villains,” another wrote after rewatching It.
With his looming height, sunken eyes, and naturally off-kilter gaze, Skarsgård brings an eerie physicality to every role he takes on. His features are both magnetic and unsettling—an unusual blend that makes it hard to look away.
This look—described by fans as handsome, but slightly unhinged—is precisely what makes him so believable as twisted characters, from Pennywise the Clown to the quietly menacing Marquis in John Wick 4.
Image credits: Barry King / Getty Images
#16 Aimee Lou Wood
The Sex Education and White Lotus star has often spoken about her insecurity growing up with teeth that didn’t align with society’s ideas of the perfect smile. In interviews, she’s mentioned how people would comment on her smile—but instead of changing it, she chose to own it.
Her teeth have become an asset, helping her bring authenticity to her various characters, and covering her in an aura of charisma and down-to-earth charm.
As Bored Panda previously reported, however, it hasn’t always been easy. The actress was recently mocked by a Saturday Night Live skit considered by many to be in bad taste.
“I actually love being taken the piss out of when it’s clever and in good spirits,” Wood said on an Instagram story shortly after the skit aired. “But the rest of the skit was punching up and I was the only one punched down on.”
Image credits: aimeelouwood / Instagram
#17 Owen Wilson
Wilson’s nose—famously broken not once but twice during his teenage years—is perhaps his most distinctive feature. Far from feeling insecure about it, he never had it fixed, and it became part of his laid-back, affable charm.
“You know, probably my nose wouldn’t have been that great even if it hadn’t been broken,” he said during an interview with The Los Angeles Times.
Image credits: JB Lacroix / Getty Images
#18 Vanessa Paradis
In the same vein as other stars in this list, the French singer, actress, and model has always been defined by her signature tooth-gaped smile.
Paradis never tried to conform to the cosmetic trends of the era, and in doing so, she paved the way for a more diverse and individualistic standard of beauty.
“Why would I fix my teeth? I can spit water through them,” she joked in 2012.
Image credits: Georges Biard / Wikipedia
#19 Gael García Bernal
It is said that too much beauty can make someone seem unapproachable, even threatening.
Which is why some imperfections here and there can elevate an already good looking person into an even more endearing presence.
Bernal perfectly embodies said thought, with his chiseled, masculine features and blue eyes, being softened by his trademark crooked smile and uneven teeth.
Image credits: Festival Internacional de Cine en Guadalajara / Wikipedia
#20 Cillian Murphy
“I saw Oppenheimer today with some friends, and we all agreed that Cillian Murphy has something about him that makes him appear like a psychopath in every film he's in,” a fan wrote.
The combination of his piercing blue eyes, hollow cheeks, and sharp bone structure gives Murphy an unsettling intensity on screen—even when he’s playing someone calm or controlled.
For his fans, it’s precisely the actor’s handsome, yet cold look that allows him to portray complex characters such as Peaky Blinders’ Tommy Shelby, or Oppenheimer’s titular physicist.
Image credits: Elena Ternovaja / Wikipedia
#21 Georgia May Jagger
As the daughter of Jerry Hall and Mick Jagger, Georgia was born into fame—but it’s her unapologetic style and iconic tooth gap that made her a standout in fashion.
Instead of masking it, she made it the centerpiece of major campaigns for Chanel and Rimmel.
“The press started making a big deal of it and I thought ‘I suppose my smile doesn’t look like everyone else’s,’” she said in a 2011 interview with Vogue.
Image credits: georgiamayjagger / Instagram
#22 Anna Paquin
The Oscar-winning actress kept the charming tooth gap she had as a child, despite pressure from producers and agents over the years. From The Piano to True Blood, her gap has become part of her visual identity.
“If you have a whole bunch of work done with your teeth, your face and your boobs then you’re only going to play modern people,” she said, talking about her ability to take certain roles. “That’s a big choice to make. Very limiting.”
Image credits: AnnaPaquin / X
#23 Sarah Jessica Parker
From Sex and the City to the Met Gala, Parker has faced endless scrutiny over her appearance, especially her nose. But despite years of criticism, she never gave in to pressure to alter her face—save from removing a small mole in her chin.
Recently however, she admitted that she would’ve liked to have gotten some work done earlier in her career.
“You know, I missed out on the facelift,” she told Vogue in 2023. “Like an old-fashioned good one that you have when you’re like 44.”
Image credits: Getty Images
#24 Chrissy Teigen
Chrissy Teigen has faced relentless speculation about her face, with some accusing her of looking “gross” or having a “new face.” She’s admitted to buccal fat removal but denied using fillers, pushing back at the public obsession with her appearance.
“Why would I fill my cheeks to the point where people talked about my cheeks?” she said on social media, mocking her critics.
Image credits: Dario Cantatore / Getty Images
#25 Madonna
The Queen of Pop has never been one to play by the rules—and that includes beauty standards.
Throughout her career, Madonna has embraced the gap between her front teeth, refusing to have it altered despite decades of pressure from the industry.
Instead of hiding it, she leaned in—even doubling down with bold fashion statements like bejeweled grills, which she famously wore during red carpet appearances and performances well into her 60s.
Image credits: Gregg DeGuire / Getty Images
