Watching back to back commercials for Frost/Nixon and Underworld: Rise of the Lycans (which opens in theaters today), I mentioned to my husband that it was amazing that the guy wearing the floppy ‘do and sideburns in the former could also be the raging muscular werewolf in the latter. He asked me what I was talking about, that there was no way they were the same actor. I had to go to IMDb.com to prove I was right.

That’s a credit to the chameleonic (and awesomely hairpieced) Michael Sheen, who currently plays David Frost in Frost/Nixon (a role he played on Broadway) and also stars as the lycan Lucian in Underworld (a role he played in the other two films alongside his ex, Kate Beckinsale, with whom he has a daughter. Ironically, Kate is now married to Underworld 1 & 2’s director Len Wiseman. That had to be a little awkward). Sheen also received a lot of acclaim playing Tony Blair to Helen Mirren’s Elizabeth II in the terrific The Queen. He’ll have to get used to the heavy makeup; Sheen will next play the Cheshire Cat in Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland.

Here’s Sheen as Frost:

And Sheen as Lucian:

Yep, same guy.

Tags: david-frost, helen-mirren, michael-sheen, nixon, sheen, sheen-as-frost, underworld