The right casting can make or break a movie, especially when it comes to biographical films. It’s much easier for an audience to believe they’re watching the life story of a well-known person when actors look convincing in the roles they play.

The following six films about famous historical figures absolutely nailed their casting by choosing actors who really seemed to become the people they portrayed.

Hilary Swank as Amelia Earhart

Although the film was panned by many critics, Hilary Swank certainly looked the part of the doomed pilot in 2009’s Amelia. Following the storied life and career of aviation pioneer Amelia Earhart, this biopic performed poorly at the box office despite earning Swank a Hollywood Film Festival Award for Best Lead Actress.

Hilary Swank has an uncanny natural resemblance to Earhart, as noted by Roger Ebert. “She looks like her, smiles like her, evokes her. Swank is an actress who doesn’t fit in many roles, but when she’s right, she’s right. The tousled hair, the freckles, the slim figure, the fitness, the physical carriage that says, ‘I know precisely who I am and I like it — and if you don’t, bail out.'”

In her quest to portray Earhart as accurately as possible, Swank learned to pilot a plane. “You can’t play Amelia Earhart and not learn how to fly. That’s just wrong in every way,” the actress told The Deseret News in 2009.

Daniel Day-Lewis as Abraham Lincoln

When Daniel Day-Lewis stepped into the role of the United States’ 16th president in Lincoln, he had big shoes to fill. Fortunately, the actor is nearly as tall as the iconic leader (6’2″ versus Lincoln’s reported 6’4″).

Directed and produced by Steven Spielberg, the 2012 film depicts the final months of Lincoln’s life. It was a commercial and critical success.

Day-Lewis, known for his intense method acting technique, studied Lincoln for nearly a year preparing for the role. “Without sounding unhinged, I know I’m not Abraham Lincoln. I’m aware of that,” Day-Lewis told the New York Times. “But the truth is the entire game is about creating an illusion, and for whatever reason, and mad as it may sound, some part of me can allow myself to believe for a period [of] time without questioning, and that’s the trick.”

The “trick” worked, and Day-Lewis won a Best Actor Academy Award for his portrayal of Lincoln.

Salma Hayek as Frida Kahlo

To prepare for the 2002 film Frida, actress Salma Hayek went to extraordinary lengths, including intentionally growing a mustache to look more authentic as the Mexican painter.

Hayek, who also hails from Mexico, was a longtime fan of the artist and sought to portray her as realistically as possible – right down to her exaggerated unibrow and other facial hair. “We tried eye shadow, but that didn’t work because it looked like eye shadow. Then we tried gluing on little hairs, but the glue was more visible than the hair.” Hayek recounted to SF Gate.

She eventually shaved her upper lip in an attempt to make the hair grow back thicker. “Most of the time you can’t see it, anyway. You can’t light (a set) for a mustache.”

For her performance, Hayek became the first Mexican to be nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress.

Ashton Kutcher as Steve Jobs

Ashton Kutcher is best known for comedic parts in sitcoms and movies such as That ’70s Show and No Strings Attached. However, he’s also a venture capitalist — a role that made him particularly well suited to play brilliant investor and inventor Steve Jobs in the 2013 biopic about the Apple co-founder.

As soon as he heard about the film, titled Jobs, Kutcher knew he had to be in it. “When I read the script, the idea of someone playing him who maybe didn’t care made me just want to jump at the role,” Kutcher told the Los Angeles Times. “I figured if I started studying who he was, the worst thing that could happen is that I would learn a lot about Steve Jobs.”

The movie, and Kutcher’s portrayal, received mixed reviews and some questioned its historical accuracy. However, Ashton Kutcher sure nailed Steve Jobs’ look, even adopting the businessman’s notoriously strict fruitarian diet while preparing for the role.

Jamie Foxx as Ray Charles

Anyone who’s watched the 2004 biographical musical film Ray understands why the multitalented actor and singer Jamie Foxx won multiple Best Actor awards for playing the part of legendary musician Ray Charles.

What some viewers might not know about the movie, however, is that Foxx actually had to audition in front of Ray Charles. Fortunately, his natural musical talent and impressive ability to play the piano helped earn him this role of a lifetime.

In addition to playing the piano parts, Foxx also wore prosthetics over his eyes during much of the filming process. This obscured his vision and helped him portray Charles, who was blind since childhood. “Jamie Foxx gets so far inside the man and his music that he and Ray Charles seem to breathe as one,” said Rolling Stone film critic Peter Travers.

Robert Downey Jr. as Charlie Chaplin

Now one of the highest-earning actors of all time, Robert Downey Jr. was just 25 years old when he was selected to play the silent film icon Charlie Chaplin in a 1992 biopic directed and produced by Richard Attenborough. Starring in Chaplin was a job that Downey Jr. took very seriously.

“I employed every single way I could try to show up for that role,” he told Vanity Fair. Months of extensive choreography training and voice coaching helped the actor morph into Chaplin, as did considerable time in the makeup chair each day.

Since the movie covered Chaplin’s life from age 19 to 83, many different cosmetic approaches were needed to transform Downey Jr. “For the later years, the longest makeup took about 7 1/2 hours,” he said. ” We were filming in Switzerland, and I’d get up at 2 in the morning, do makeup until mid-morning, go to the set and shoot until dusk.”