15 Pairs of Actors Whose Real-Life Height Difference Was Amended for the Big Screen

It’s hard to tell how tall our favorite actors and actresses really are just by looking at them on the screen. And more often than not, we imagine them to be tall, but behind the scenes, many movie stars are shorter than they appear.

Here at CHEERY, we decided to find out what famous duos from popular films should have actually looked like if the filmmakers had left their height unchanged.

James Marsden and Famke Janssen

In this mutant superhero film, James Marsden and Famke Janssen meet on a cliff and after a brief conversation, kiss. In the shot, the actor is seen to be slightly taller than his counterpart, although he actually is an inch and a half shorter. Marsden is 5’10″, and Janssen, 5’11½".

Owen Wilson and Ben Stiller

Ben Stiller is three inches shorter than Owen Wilson. But in the action comedy film Zoolander 2, he seemed, in many scenes, to be just as tall, if not taller, than his partner. Ben Stiller is 5’7½", and Owen Wilson is 5’10½".

Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger

Sylvester Stallone, who plays strong and tough characters in movies, is 5’9½" tall. However, the Hollywood action star admits that he looks taller on screen than he really is because he always wears elevated shoes. That’s why in Escape Plan, the Rocky star looks almost as tall as Arnold Schwarzenegger, who, by the way, is 6’2″.

Tom Cruise and Rosamund Pike

As you know, directors often resort to all sorts of tricks to make the characters in their movies appear taller than they really are. These include camera angles, small wooden boxes (used in static scenes), and, of course, platform or heeled shoes.

For example, in the movie Jack Reacher, Tom Cruise’s partner became Rosamund Pike. In real life, she is taller than him by an inch and a half — 5’8½" vs 5’7″. Although the film portrays them as being the same height.

Michael Douglas and Sharon Stone

Michael Douglas and Sharon Stone starred together in Paul Verhoeven’s thriller Basic Instinct. In many scenes, the actor looks noticeably taller than his colleague, although Michael is a little shorter than Sharon. He is 5’8″, while she is 5’8½".

Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law

This on-screen duo first appeared in 2009 in Guy Ritchie’s Sherlock Holmes. The actors are practically the same height in the movie, although Robert Downey Jr. is slightly shorter than Jude Law — 5’8″ vs 5’10″. It turns out that Robert wore heeled shoes during filming. Guy Ritchie asked him to do this. He was the first director to talk Downey Jr. into wearing heels.

Brad Pitt and Jonah Hill

Although Brad Pitt is not a short man (he’s 5’11″), he also sometimes wears platform or heeled shoes on set. For example, he wanted to appear taller in The Big Short and Moneyball. In the sports drama, he is much taller than his partner Jonah Hill, even though the latter is only four inches shorter than Pitt — 5’7″.

Dwayne Johnson and Jason Statham

It’s no secret that former wrestler Dwayne Johnson is a pretty big guy, he’s 6’5″. So almost any actor would look short next to him, even Jason Statham, who is 5’10″. In Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw, the height difference between the actors is barely noticeable, although in real life it is like 7 inches.

Kit Harington and Rose Leslie

Kit Harington and Rose Leslie, who played Jon Snow and Ygritte on Game of Thrones, have a slight height difference of only two inches in real life (he is 5’8″, and she’s 5’6″). But on-screen, the difference between them seems to be a significant one. This is because the actor wore heels to make himself look taller than the other characters on the show.

Joaquin Phoenix and Russell Crowe

Joaquin Phoenix, who played Commodus in Ridley Scott’s historical film Gladiator, is 5’8″ tall. Russell Crowe, who played the title role, is 5’11½". So the height difference is obvious, even though both actors are practically the same height in the movie.

Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg

The two main characters in the action-comedy The Other Guys are played by Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg. In many scenes, Mark is noticeably shorter than his partner, although in real life, the Planet of the Apes star is even shorter — Will is 6’3″ and Mark is 5’8″. It turns out that Wahlberg, in movies and in real life, often wears shoes that increase his height by a couple of inches.

Robert De Niro and Al Pacino

In Martin Scorsese’s The Irishman, Robert De Niro and Al Pacino played two friends doing their own thing. De Niro is only an inch shorter than Pacino — 5’7″ vs 5’8″. But to appear taller, Robert wore special shoes with a thick platform on set.

Zac Efron and Nicole Kidman

Zac Efron and Nicole Kidman played lovers in the detective drama The Paperboy (2012). Although the difference between Efron and Kidman is 3 inches (5’8″ vs 5’11″), it’s almost unnoticeable in the film. It’s most likely a matter of camera angles and high platform shoes. The actor has been known to wear shoes that make him taller in real life, as well.

Charlize Theron and James McAvoy

Charlize Theron played a British MI6 agent in this spy-action film. The actress did very well in this role also because she is almost 6 inches taller than the average American woman — 5’9¾". At the same time, her on-screen partner, James McAvoy, is 5’9″.

Therefore, so as not to be shorter than the main character, who, by the way, always wore heels, McAvoy also had to wear shoes with high heels.

Tom Cruise and Kelly McGillis

We’ve already discussed that some tricks make Tom Cruise appear taller on screen than he really is. Here’s another example. The actor, whose height is 5’7’’, starred in the movie Top Gun (1986), where his on-screen partner was Kelly McGillis. Kelly is 3 inches taller than Tom, though you wouldn’t have known it from the movie.

How tall are you? Would you like to be either shorter or taller?