15 Actresses So TALL Hollywood Had To Make Their Male Co Stars Look Bigger

15 tall actresses Hollywood had to hide: how studios made male co-stars look taller with apple boxes, shoe lifts, ballet slippers, a rising plank and even a trench. Nicole Kidman and Tom Cruise, Kelly McGillis in Top Gun, Sophia Loren and Alan Ladd, Ingrid Bergman and Humphrey Bogart in Casablanca, and more. In this video: • Nicole Kidman's height vs Tom Cruise: flat shoes, "I can wear heels now" on Letterman, and why she said she was 5'10½" • Kelly McGillis and Tom Cruise in Top Gun: "We used apple boxes and shoe lifts for Tom" • Sophia Loren and Alan Ladd in Boy on a Dolphin: the trench dug so she would look shorter • Ingrid Bergman and Humphrey Bogart in Casablanca: wooden blocks and cushions; Claude Rains and the rising plank in Hitchcock's Notorious • Brigitte Nielsen, Sylvester Stallone and Dolph Lundgren in Rocky IV • Laura Dern turned down for roles 150 times for being too tall; Will Arnett in Is This Thing On? • Sigourney Weaver's height in Alien and Ghostbusters, and the roles it cost her • Michelle Monaghan, Stephen Dorff and the apple box in Somewhere • Ann Miller dancing with Fred Astaire in ballet slippers in Easter Parade • Karen Gillan (Doctor Who, Jumanji) on co-stars standing on boxes • Zendaya and Tom Holland's height difference in Spider-Man • Famke Janssen in GoldenEye and X-Men, Geena Davis in Tootsie, Gwendoline Christie in Game of Thrones, Elizabeth Debicki as Princess Diana in The Crown Tall actresses, celebrity heights, Hollywood height tricks, actors shorter than their leading ladies, how movies hide height differences, classic Hollywood secrets, behind the scenes movie facts. Chapters: 0:00 How Hollywood hid tall actresses 0:52 15. Elizabeth Debicki – Princess Diana in The Crown 1:43 14. Gwendoline Christie – Brienne of Tarth 2:23 13. Geena Davis – Tootsie and Olympic archery 3:19 12. Famke Janssen – GoldenEye and X-Men 4:03 11. Zendaya – Tom Holland height difference 4:57 10. Karen Gillan – co-stars on boxes 5:52 9. Ann Miller – ballet slippers with Fred Astaire 6:38 8. Michelle Monaghan – the apple box in Somewhere 7:19 7. Sigourney Weaver – too tall for love stories 8:15 6. Ingrid Bergman – Casablanca's wooden blocks 9:24 5. Laura Dern – turned down 150 times 10:08 4. Brigitte Nielsen – Rocky IV and Stallone 10:51 3. Kelly McGillis – Top Gun apple boxes and shoe lifts 11:34 2. Sophia Loren – the trench for Alan Ladd 12:04 1. Nicole Kidman – Tom Cruise and flat shoes Sources: The Hollywood Reporter (2019, 2025), The Independent (2026), CinemaBlend (2023), NME (2024), Inverness Courier (2019), Mail & Guardian / The Guardian (2009), NPR (2017), Associated Press (1999), Parade (2023), F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby (1925), Hitchcock/Truffaut (1966), Aljean Harmetz, Round Up the Usual Suspects (Casablanca). Interview clips: The Kelly Clarkson Show, The View, The Graham Norton Show, Lorraine (ITV), Late Show with David Letterman. Clips used for commentary and criticism. #TallActresses #Hollywood #NicoleKidman