Hollywood is known for using camera tricks to create the illusion that certain things are closer, farther away, or differently proportioned. This includes altering how celebrities appear on screen.
While height is often seen as a positive physical trait, some stars have shared that they were considered too tall to land major roles. As a result, they sometimes had to lie about their height to casting directors or rely on movie magic to appear shorter. After all, the average height in the United States is 5’9″ (175 cm) for men and 5’4″ (162 cm) for women.
Others were bullied for their towering stature, and their careers in the entertainment industry helped them gain confidence in something they once felt insecure about.
Without further ado, here are 22 actors and singers who are much taller than people assume.
#1 Nicole Kidman
Nicole is taller than many people may think—the iconic actress towers at 5’11” (180 cm).
To secure more roles, she would lie and say she was 5’10’’.
“I was told, ‘You won’t have a career. You’re too tall’,” the Moulin Rouge star shared last year. “People would say, ‘How’s the air up there?’ Now, I get, ‘You’re so much taller than I thought’, or men grappling with how high my heels should be.”
Image credits: John Shearer/Getty Images
#2 Sigourney Weaver
The actress told El País that she’s accustomed to men feeling intimidated by her height—5’11” (180 cm)—and sitting down when she enters the room.
Therefore, she appreciated when her Year of Living Dangerously co-star, Mel Gibson, who is shorter than her, encouraged her to wear “the highest heels [she] could” for the premiere.
“If you’re tall, people expect you to be more mature, and for many, many years, I was not that,” Sigourney admitted. “Because of my career, I’ve kind of fooled people into thinking that I’m a serious person (…) In general, I’m on the silly side.”
Image credits: Ron Galella/Ron Galella Collection
#3 Taylor Swift
Few people know that the record-breaking pop star is 5’10’’ (178 cm).
“I didn’t like being tall when I would walk up to a group of girls, and they were all a head shorter than me,” said Taylor, who now embraces her height and enjoys flaunting her long legs in luxury stilettos.
At the 2022 AMAs, she poked fun at her height difference with singer Sabrina Carpenter, who stands at 4’ 9’’ (152 cm).
Image credits: TAS2024/Getty Images
#4 Hugh Jackman
At 6’2” (188 cm), Hugh was almost rejected for the role of Wolverine for being nearly a foot taller than the character.
“In the first movie, I’d never have my shoes on,” the Aussie actor told CNN about the backstage tricks used to make him look shorter. “Every other actor around me did. The rule was: unless they were a kid, they had to be taller than me.”
He added: “I was literally crouching. People were on planks and boxes all around me, so they went to a great effort. After a while, they just gave up on that.”
Image credits: Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images
#5 Brooke Shields
The Blue Lagoon actress comes in at 6’0” (183 cm). Her height and good looks landed her modeling work in the 1980s for Vogue and TV ads for Calvin Klein.
Brooke’s daughter, Grier—whom she shares with television writer Chris Hench—is also six foot tall and a model.
“I finally had to give in and say if you’re gonna do this: I’m not gonna be your manager. You’re going to be with an agency. You’re going to have a great work ethic. It’s not going to be comfortable and you’re gonna listen to me,” Brooke said of the conditions she set to allow Grier to model.
Image credits: Weiss Eubanks/NBCUniversal
#6 Joe Manganiello
Joe told El País that his height of 6’5” (196 cm) was sometimes a handicap, as he lost many opportunities because the main actor didn’t want to share the screen with someone much taller than him.
One day, his luck changed when he received a call to appear in the HBO series True Blood as the rival of the equally tall Alexander Skarsgård. Though Joe was initially set to star for six episodes, he ended up playing the role of werewolf Alcide for five seasons.
Image credits: Charles Sykes/Bravo
#7 Liam Hemsworth
The Aussie heartthrob stands at 6’3″ (191 cm), an impressive height that allowed him to audition for the role of Thor. Of course, it was his older brother, Chris Hemsworth, who ultimately landed the role of the Marvel superhero.
According to Chris, the requirements to play the ripped god of thunder included being at least 6’3″ and weighing over 200 pounds (90 kg).
Image credits: Dave Benett/Getty Images
#8 Stephen Merchant
The English actor and director stands at 6’7″ (201 cm).
In his 2011 show, Hello Ladies, Stephen included a joke about his above-average height: “6ft 7in is too big… Growing up I spent as much time as possible in the distance.”
His girlfriend, Mircea, is 5’5’’. Stephen previously revealed that he had had trouble finding a girlfriend because of his height. He told Alan Carr, “If they’re down there and I’m up here, it’s a bit tricky.”
Image credits: Iona Wolff/BAFTA
#9 Gwendoline Christie
Gwendoline, who stands at 6’3” (191 cm), revealed that, before her big break, she was “very concerned” about not landing roles due to her body type.
However, she said she soon realized that “nothing interesting got done if you accepted the limitations other people put on you.”
The Game of Thrones and Severance actress finds the commentary about her height “dull.”
Image credits: Richard Murgatroyd/BAFTA
#10 Uma Thurman
Uma is thought to be between 5’11” (180 cm) and 6 feet tall (182 cm). When she was a child, she felt insecure about her appearance, telling The Times, “I spent the early years of my life being quite sure that my looks were hideous.”
Her actress and model daughter, Maya Hawke, is also above average height, standing at nearly 5’8” (172 cm).
Image credits: BG048/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images
#11 Alexander Skarsgård
“I’m tall in Sweden,” Alexander Skarsgård told The Guardian. “But I’m huge in Hollywood.”
The actor clocks in at 6’4” (193 cm), so it’s no surprise he played a Viking warrior prince in The Northman.
According to The Guardian journalist Benjamin Lee, Alexander is significantly taller in person than he appears on screen.
Image credits: Eric Charbonneau/Getty Images
#12 Armie Hammer
Armie is an impressive 6’5″ (196 cm) and wears size 15 shoes.
The Call Me By Your Name star said his height was an issue earlier in his career, so much so that he was sometimes made to walk in specially excavated set trenches. On other occasions, his shorter co-stars had to stand on boxes, like Johnny Depp in The Lone Ranger.
“But I think we’re now at the point where everyone knows that I’m tall, so it’s just become, ‘F**k it!” he said. “You’re the tall guy. And that’s just fine.”
Image credits: Karwai Tang/WireImage
#13 Ben Affleck
Ben is so tall that when he met Michael Jordan before filming Air began, he stood side by side with the athlete to compare their heights.
“Ben stands up, kind of puffs out his chest, stands tall right up against Jordan, and I think, ‘Oh God, I see where this is going,'” shared Matt Damon, who co-stars with Ben in the sports film.
“Ben’s tall, like 6-foot-3 (190 cm). So Ben goes, ‘No way you’re 6-foot-6 (198 cm)’ And Jordan goes, ‘Yeah, I am.’ And Ben goes, ‘No, not a chance, you’re 6-foot-4¾, four and three-quarters tops!
“And without missing a beat, Jordan says, ‘Which is what makes what I did all the more incredible.’”
Image credits: Michael Buckner/Variety
#14 Blake Lively
Blake was bullied in school for her height—5’10” (178 cm)—and called Big Bird.
“Kids used to make fun of me in elementary school by calling me Big Bird (because I was ‘too tall’ and had ‘yellow’ hair). Here’s to making best buddies with the things that once hurt you,” she wrote on Instagram after filming an appearance on Sesame Street.
In case you’re wondering, her husband, Ryan Reynolds, towers over her at 6’2” (188 cm).
Image credits: Michael Loccisano/Getty Images
#15 Brigitte Nielsen
Growing up, the Danish star wore a corset to correct her scoliosis and orthopaedic shoes because her right leg was longer than the left one. At school, she was teased for her height of 6’1” (185 cm), with children calling her “giraffen,” she told The Guardian.
Then she was hired as a model. “When I was 16, I was seen in Copenhagen by a model agent who spotted me and crossed the shop to talk to me,” Brigitte said. “I couldn’t believe it, but that job made me stand up straighter. It gave me some firm confidence.
“But of course, having been bullied for 10 years, in your young years…that never really leaves you.”
Image credits: Alessandro Levati/Getty Images
#16 Chris Hemsworth
Chris’s height helped him secure the role of Thor in the Marvel franchise. However, this was more the exception than the rule.
On many occasions, he lied about his height to land more roles. “There are certainly things I’ve wanted to go up for which I’ve been totally wrong for, physically,” he told the Radio Times. “And I normally lie about my height [6’3” or 191 cm] and say I’m shorter.”
Chris ranks second as the tallest Marvel actor, behind Paul Bettany (Vision), who boasts a height of 6’3 1⁄2.
Image credits: Eric Charbonneau/Getty Images
#17 Elizabeth Debicki
Elizabeth, who is an astonishing 6’3” (191 cm), told Variety that her height has been “a huge help” because it makes her roles “extremely graphic” on screen, like Ayesha in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2
“If I’ve missed out on a part because I’m tall, that’s not the excuse my agent is going to use, whether or not that’s happened in the past,” she said.
“There’s nothing I can do about that. You are the way you are, and you have to embrace that and love that about yourself.”
Image credits: Rich Polk/Getty Images
#18 Jason Momoa
The 45-year-old Hawaiian hunk stands at 6’5″ (196 cm). Recalling his Game of Thrones audition, Jason said his physicality helped increase his chances of landing the role.
“When you have a big 6’5” Hawaiian screaming at the top of his lungs…casting directors were kind of very scared. It worked,” he joked.
Jason played the muscular Khal Drogo in the first two seasons of the HBO series.
Image credits: VCG/VCG
#19 Jeff Goldblum
The Jurassic Park and Independence Day actor is used to people pointing out his height to him, given that he measures 6’4” (193 cm).
“I say to them, ‘Yes! I know! I apologize! I’m like a parade float!’”
Jeff only looked average in height when he worked with Geena Davis in the 1998 film Earth Girls Are Easy. The actress is slightly over six feet tall (183 cm).
Image credits: Claudio Lavenia/Getty Images
#20 Maria Sharapova
At 6’2” (188 cm), the Russian tennis legend made the surprising revelation that nobody in her family is as tall as she is.
“I was born in Siberia because of the Chernobyl explosion and my mom was pregnant with me and they were living 30 kilometers from the explosion in Belarus at the time,” she explained on the Armchair Expert podcast.
When host Dax Shepard joked that her height might be connected to the blast, Maria said, laughing, “It’s been mentioned a few times. No one [in my family] is as tall as I am so it’s definitely been a consideration.”
Image credits: Tommaso Boddi/Getty Images
#21 Venus Williams
Venus stands at 6’1” (185 cm) and has extraordinarily long arms—two features that gave her a significant advantage in her tennis career, particularly benefitting her serve. Her height also allowed her to reach difficult returns while positioned at the net.
The retired player was ranked as the world No. 1 in women’s singles by the WTA for 11 weeks. She has earned seven Grand Slam singles titles and 14 Grand Slam doubles titles, all won alongside her sister, Serena.
Image credits: Frazer Harrison/Getty Images
#22 Vince Vaughn
Vince has a height of 6’5” (196 cm). A source close to the actor revealed that he has decided to give up junk food due to the health risks associated with being overweight at his height.
“He’s a tall guy, and getting too heavy would be risky for him and put pressure on his heart,” the insider said.
Vince, who co-starred with Reese Witherspoon in Four Christmases, was required to carry the petite 5’2’’ (157 cm) actress in some dance scenes so she could fit in the camera frame.
Image credits: Dia Dipasupil/Getty Images
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