Joaquin Phoenix
We tend to think of a makeover as something that improves. But there are those unfortunate few who take their image overhauls in the opposite direction. Fans were surprised when the usually clean-cut Joaquin Phoenix — known for his turns in Hotel Rwanda and Walk the Line, among other films — announced his retirement from acting in October 2008, grew a scraggly beard and claimed to be moving toward a rap career. "After all the years of reading scripts and reading lines, this is my chance to do something straight from the heart and put it out there," he told People. "When I was young, I liked punk-rock music, but then I discovered rap. I love the storytelling aspect of hip-hop." A series of surly public appearances led observers to wonder whether Phoenix was on drugs or perhaps pulling an elaborate practical joke. His brother-in-law Casey Affleck has pledged to reveal all in an upcoming documentary. We're not sure we want to know.