15 Times Movies Made Two Actors’ Height Difference Disappear

When we see an actor on the screen, we don’t always realize how tall or short they are. Of course, for some of them the word is already out there and we know their height. What we don’t always know or realize is how film productions alter their protagonists’ height either during filming or in post-production in order to diminish the height difference.

1. Natalie Portman and Chris Hemsworth

Natalie Portman and Chris Hemsworth are another on-screen couple who have a significant height difference. To make sure the actors, who are 5’3’’ and 6’3’’ tall respectively, looked well together, they built a path that was one foot off the ground on which Portman had to walk during their scenes together.

2. Owen Wilson and Ben Stiller

When it comes to height, there is a noticeable difference between Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson. Ben Stiller stands at 5’7½" while Owen Wilson measures 5’10½". However, in the action comedy film Zoolander 2, clever cinematography and other visual techniques created the illusion that Stiller’s character was on par with, or even taller than, Wilson’s character in many scenes.

3. 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″.

4. Tom Cruise and Rosamund Pike

To create visual consistency and maintain the illusion of height parity between characters, directors employ various techniques in filmmaking. Camera angles, strategically placed props like small wooden boxes, and the use of platform or heeled shoes are some common methods utilized.

An example of this can be seen in the movie Jack Reacher, where Tom Cruise’s co-star is Rosamund Pike. In reality, Pike is an inch and a half taller than Cruise, with a height of 5’8½" compared to Cruise’s 5’7″. However, in the film, they are portrayed as having similar heights to ensure a seamless on-screen dynamic.

5. Christian Bale and Tom Hardy

To portray Bane in The Dark Knight Rises, Tom Hardy needed to visit the gym a lot and learn to speak through a special box to make his voice scarier. Additionally, the actor needed to increase his height to look good next to Christian Bale. He had to wear shoes on a very high platform. Tom Hardy is 5’9″, and Bale is 6′.

6. 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".

7. Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law

The dynamic on-screen pairing of Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law first captivated audiences in Guy Ritchie’s 2009 film, Sherlock Holmes. Interestingly, in the movie, their characters appear to be almost the same height, despite Robert Downey Jr. being slightly shorter than Jude Law in reality, with heights of 5’8″ and 5’10″ respectively. To achieve this visual continuity, director Guy Ritchie suggested that Robert wear heeled shoes during filming, making him the first director to propose such a footwear choice to Downey Jr.

8. 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.

9. Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson

Bella Swan and Edward Cullen from the film series The Twilight Saga have become an iconic couple. They look so nice together: he is tall and she is slightly shorter. But in reality, the height gap between the 2 actors is much bigger. Kristen is 5’5″ tall, while Robert is 6’1″ tall.

10. Kit Harington and Rose Leslie

Kit Harington and Rose Leslie, known for their roles as Jon Snow and Ygritte on Game of Thrones, have a small height disparity of merely two inches in real life, with Kit standing at 5’8″ and Rose at 5’6″. However, on-screen, the perceived difference between them appears more pronounced. This is due to Kit Harington wearing lifts or heels to create the illusion of being taller than the other characters in the show. This technique is commonly employed in film and television to maintain consistent visual dynamics between characters.

11. 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.

12. James McAvoy and Anne Hathaway

In real life, Anne Hathaway (5’8’’) and James McAvoy (5’9’’) are almost equally tall. But the creators of the romantic drama Becoming Jane made it look like McAvoy was significantly taller than her.

13. Zac Efron and Nicole Kidman

In the detective drama film The Paperboy (2012), Zac Efron and Nicole Kidman portrayed a couple on-screen. Despite their real-life height difference of 3 inches (with Efron standing at 5’8″ and Kidman at 5’11″), the disparity is hardly noticeable in the movie. This can be attributed to various factors, such as clever camera angles and the use of elevated shoes or platforms. It is not uncommon for actors, including Efron, to wear footwear that enhances their height both on and off the screen.

14. 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.

15. Leonardo DiCaprio and Cate Blanchett

Throughout the movie, Cate Blanchett, who portrayed the amazing Katharine Hepburn, changed many gorgeous outfits. And almost all of them, she matched with high heels — you can clearly see them in some scenes. In heels, Cate, who is 5’8’’ tall, should have been almost as tall as Leonardo DiCaprio, whose height is 6′.

The 2 stills above imply that Leo had to wear platform shoes. The height of his character, Howard Hughes, was 6’4’’. And as we know, Martin Scorsese is famous for his attention to detail, and he also used this trick in the movie The Irishman.

These changes and alterations have happened quite a lot in movies and you might even be shocked to learn the real height of some of the most successful actors in Hollywood.