Jake Lacy as Robert “B” Berchtold
Jake Lacy may look a friendly neighbor in Peacock's A Friend of the Family, but his character, Robert "B" Berchtold, was far from one IRL. Robert was responsible for kidnapping his neighbors' eldest daughter, Jan Broberg, twice throughout the 1970s.
Paul Walter Hauser as Larry Hall
In Apple TV+'s Black Bird, the Richard Jewell star lost 40 pounds to play suspected serial killer Larry Hall.
Hauser credited the series' hair and make-up teams for perfecting Hall's hair and his infamous muttonchop sideburns, which Hall called "burnsides."
Jessica Biel as Candy Montgomery
In the Hulu series Candy, Jessica Biel transforms into accused axe murderer Candy Montgomery. For the role, Biel sports Candy's signature curly hair and oversized glasses. It's safe to say the 7th Heaven alum is totally unrecognizable!
Renée Zellweger as Pam Hupp
The Oscar-winning actress totally transformed into convicted killer Pam Hupp using prosthetics and body padding for NBC's TV series The Thing About Pam, based on Dateline's incredibly successful true crime podcast.
The Thing About Pam is based on the 2011 murder of Betsy Faria that resulted in her husband Russ' conviction. While Russ was later exonerated the crime set off a chain of events that eventually exposed a villainous scheme planned by Pam.
The Thing About Pam premiered Mar. 8, 2022 on NBC.
Joey King as Gypsy Blanchard
The Kissing Booth star had to shave her head for the role of Gypsy in Hulu's The Act, a miniseries about the woman whose mother Dee Dee claimed she was extremely sick and had the mental capacity of a 7 year-old for years and years, until Dee Dee was found murdered and it was revealed that Gypsy was actually a completely healthy adult.
Patricia Arquette as Dee Dee Blanchard
And Patricia Arquette, who had already transformed for her award-winning performance in Showtime's Escape at Dannemora, gained weight to play Dee Dee herself, though she didn't gain as much weight as she would have needed to completely physically match the real person, especially after all of the weight fluctuation she had gone through for Dannemora.
"This real lady was like a hundred pounds more, and I thought, I will die. I'll just be a dead person, so I'm gonna stop here."
Eric Bana as John Meehan
The Troy star dipped his toe back into TV for the role of John Meehan, a con artist with a sordid past on Bravo's Dirty John.
Connie Britton as Debra Newell
Connie Britton takes on the role of Debra Newell in Dirty John. Debra is a woman who thought she found the man of her dreams...but he turned into a nightmare.
Jean Smart as Arlane Hart
The Designing Women and Fargo veteran is almost unrecognizable as Debra's mother Arlane Hart.
Edie Falco as Leslie Abramson
The Nurse Jackie actress suited up as the curly haired legal eagle on the first season of Law & Order: True Crime, which focused on the famous Menendez brothers murder case. In 1994, Lyle and Erik Menendez were convicted in a high-profile trial for the 1989 murders of their wealthy parents, entertainment executive Jose and his wife Kitty.
Al Pacino as Phil Spector
Starring in HBO's Phil Spector, the Oscar winner got wiggy with it when he took on the role of the eccentric "Wall of Sound" super producer, who was found guilty of killing actress Lana Clarkson after a night of drinking in 2003.
Edgar Ramirez as Gianni Versace
For Ryan Murphy's American Crime Story, The Girl on the Train star completely transformed his appearance for his role as the slain Italian fashion designer, who was murdered outside his Miami mansion by Andrew Cunanan on July 15, 1997.
Penelope Cruz as Donatella Versace
The Spanish star donned one seriously blonde wig to play the fashionable sister of Gianni Versace in the second season of American Crime Story.
Darren Criss as Andrew Cunanan
The former Glee star donned some killer jorts for his role as Gianni Versace's killer in the second season of Ryan Murphy's American Crime Story. The 28-year-old killed at least four people before murdering the famed fashion designer in front of his Miami mansion on July 15, 1997. On July 24, 1997, he committed suicide.
Addison Timlin as Colleen Stan
In Girl in the Box, the actress went full throttle for her role as a kidnap victim who was kept in a box and used as a sex slave for seven years by Cameron Hooker. Eventually his wife turned him and and Hooker was sentenced to 104 years in prison.
Gethin Anthony as Charles Manson
Making quite the physical change, the British Game of Thrones star went head first into the role of the Manson Family's head honcho on the drama Aquarius.
Hayden Panettiere as Amanda Knox
The Nashville actress starred as Foxy Knoxy in the Lifetime movie Amanda Knox: Murder on Trial in Italy in 2011. Knox was accused of killing her roommate Meredith Kercher on Nov. 1, 2007, during her semester abroad in Perugia, Italy.
Cuba Gooding Jr. as O.J. Simpson
The Oscar winner jumped into portraying The Juice for FX's American Crime Story in 2016. The fallen football hero was put on trial for the 1994 murder of his ex wife Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman.
Taryn Manning as Michelle Knight
The Orange Is the New Black actress starred as a 10-year kidnapping victim in the 2015 Lifetime movie Cleveland Abduction. The star played the oldest of the three women who were held captive by Ariel Castro for nearly a decade before escaping in 2013.
Sarah Paulson as Marcia Clark
Ryan Murphy's go-to girl went for a total transformation and nabbed an Emmy for her portrayal of the dogged lead prosecutor in the O.J. Simpson trial on FX's American Crime Story in 2016.
Zelda Williams as Janice Hooker
Robin Williams' daughter was barely recognizable when she took on the role of Cameron Hooker's wife and accomplice in the TV movie Girl in the Box, about a couple who kidnaps a woman, Colleen Stan, and uses her as a sex slave for seven years.
Rob Lowe as Drew Peterson
The hunky actor opted for new 'do and a 'stache to appear in Lifetime's Drew Peterson: Untouchable in 2012. Lowe took on the role of the former police sergeant who was convicted in 2012 of his third wife's death after his fourth wife disappeared. Peterson received a prison sentence of 38 years on February 21, 2013. His fourth wife, Stacy, is still missing.
John Travolta as Robert Shapiro
The Hollywood heavyweight, who started off in TV, went back to his roots when he played the famed defense attorney, who was part of O.J. Simpson's legal "Dream Team," in American Crime Story in 2016.
Eric Dane as Tex Watson
The former Grey's Anatomy star kicked things back to the '60s when he played the charming but deadly Charles "Tex" Watson, a member of Charles Manson's Manson Family, in the TV movie Helter Skelter, based on Vincent Bugliosi's famed true crime book.