Jude Law transforms into Putin for The Wizard of Kremlin: 8 other actors who played iconic politicians

From Meryl Streep to Kangana Ranaut, several actors have gone on to portray iconic real-life political figures on screen. How many have you seen? 

Updated on: Sep 01, 2025 7:03 PM IST

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Olivier Assayas’s political drama The Wizard of the Kremlin has Jude Law stepping into the shoes of Vladimir Putin. The film had its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival.

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Sebastian Stan earned an Oscar nomination in the Best Actor category for his portrayal of a young Donald Trump in the movie The Apprentice. He lost to Adrien Brody in The Brutalist. (X, formerly Twitter)

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In W. actor Josh Brolin transformed into George W. Bush. His casting came through after Harrison Ford and Christian Bale dropped out of the project.

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Kangana Ranaut played former Tamil Nadu chief minister J Jayalalithaa in Thalaivii. The film was released in 2021.

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Known for his drastic physical transformation, Christian Bale gained 40 pounds for playing former US Vice President Dick Cheney in Vice.

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John Lithgow delivered one of his best performances as Winston Churchill, the former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, in The Crown, for which he won an Emmy.

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Meryl Streep won her third Oscar for playing Margaret Thatcher, the first female Prime Minister of Britain. 

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Daniel Day Lewis won an Oscar for his towering performance as America’s most loved President Abraham Lincoln in Steven Spielberg’s biopic.

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Gary Oldman took on the role of Winston Churchill in the film Darkest Hour. His performance ultimately won him an Oscar. (AP)