If you’ve ever encountered a Hollywood actor in person, you might be surprised to learn they aren’t as tall as they appear on the big screen. Some of the most famous celebrities in the entertainment industry are on the shorter side — and they are some of the most popular A-listers, action stars and superheroes in the movies today.
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Many of the Marvel superheroes are well under six feet tall, think Paul Rudd, Robert Downey Jr. and Don Cheadle. And the trio of actors, who have played Spider-Man over the last two decades, don’t hit that six-foot mark either. Kevin Hart is one of the shortest actors working in Hollywood today, but he has “embrace[d]” his height and has no problem making fun of himself. “This is it. This is what I was given. This is my playing cards,” he told Oprah Winfrey in 2014. “If we were playing poker, I’ve got to make this hand work. This is it for me. And this is what I’m going to ride out. So how do you not embrace it? You get one life. One. You get one life. I’m going to embrace mine.”
And there are always tricks to the trade — some men are rumored to wear lifts in their shoes and other times, their female co-stars will wear flat shoes so they don’t tower over their love interest. There are so many ways to make the actors look taller, but Hollywood doesn’t mind because they will always find a way to create an illusion of height, if need be. Find out who clocked in at less than six feet tall — some of the names on this list might shock you.
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Ke Huy Quan
Image Credit: Kevin Mazur/Getty Images Everything Everywhere All at Once Oscar winner Ke Huy Quan stands at 5 feet, 4 inches tall.
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Lenny Kravitz
Image Credit: Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic Proving you don’t have to be tall to look cool, Lenny Kravitz stands at 5 feet, 9 inches tall.
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Colin Farrell
Image Credit: Getty Images Colin Farrell stands three inches shorter than his Banshees of Inisherin costar Brendan Gleeson at 5 feet, 10 inches tall.
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Elliot Page
Image Credit: Michael Buckner/Variety via Getty Images At 5′ 1″, Elliot Page is often towered over by his co-stars.
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John Legend
Image Credit: Steve Granitz/FilmMagic Making John Legend and his wife Chrissy Teigen even cuter, the pair have the same height at 5 feet, 9 inches, each.
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Brad Pitt
Image Credit: Stephane Cardinale – Corbis/Corbis via Getty Images As one of the most recognizable actors in Hollywood, Brad Pitt almost makes it to 6 feet tall, but he clocks in at 5 feet, 11 inches tall.
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Kevin Hart
Image Credit: Michael Buckner/Variety/Penske Media via Getty Images One of the highest paid actors in Hollywood is also one of the shortest. Kevin Hart is 5 feet, 2 inches tall.
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George Clooney
Image Credit: David Buchan/Variety/Penske Media via Getty Images Brad Pitt’s buddy George Clooney is another one in the almost-six-foot-club, he’s also 5 feet, 11 inches tall.
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Andrew Scott
Image Credit: River Callaway/Variety via Getty Images Golden Globe nominee Andrew Scott is in the short king category at 5′ 8″.
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Tom Cruise
Image Credit: Daniel Zuchnik/Variety via Getty Images Mr. Mission: Impossible himself is 5 feet, 7 inches tall, and he’s been married to tall women like Katie Holmes and Nicole Kidman, who towered over him on the red carpet.
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Matt Damon
Image Credit: Cindy Ord/WireImage via Getty Images Matt and Ben — two Boston buddies, but Matt stands at 5 feet, 10 inches tall while Ben Affleck has six inches on his BFF.
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Paul Rudd
Image Credit: Dia Dipasupil/Getty Images Paul Rudd never ages, is probably on everyone’s celebrity crush list and he’s one of the many Marvel stars under 6 feet tall — he’s 5 feet, 10 inches tall.
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Danny DeVito
Image Credit: Daniel Zuchnik/Variety via Getty Images You can’t have this list without Danny DeVito getting a mention, and even though he stands 4 feet, 10 inches tall, he has one of the biggest personalities in the entertainment industry.
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Don Cheadle
Image Credit: Michael Buckner/Variety via Getty Images A recurring theme in the Marvel universe is that many of the actors aren’t that tall. Iron Man star Don Cheadle stands at 5 feet, 7¾ inches tall.
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Kit Harington
Image Credit: Mark Von Holden/Variety via Getty Images Kit Harington worked alongside some very tall Game of Thrones actors on the HBO series, but he was one of the shortest men on the set at 5 feet, 8 inches tall.
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Mark Wahlberg
Image Credit: Paul Citone/Variety via Getty Images Mark Wahlberg is another action star who isn’t the tallest actor on the big screen — he’s 5 feet, 8 inches tall.
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Jet Li
Image Credit: Gregg DeGuire/FilmMagic via Getty Images The Mulan actor is small, but mighty, so watch out for one of his swift moves on-screen. He is 5 feet, 6¼ inches tall.
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Stanley Tucci
Image Credit: Nathan Congleton/NBC via Getty Images Stanley Tucci became everyone’s internet crush during the pandemic for his mixology videos — and he clocks in at 5 feet, 8 inches tall.
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Daniel Radcliffe
Image Credit: Gilbert Flores/Variety/Penske Media via Getty Images Harry Potter and Hermione, played by Emma Watson, were exactly the same height at 5 feet, 5 inches tall.
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Michael J. Fox
Image Credit: Terry Wyatt/Getty Images for The Michael J. Fox Foundation Every Gen-X teen girl was in love with Michael J. Fox in the 1980s, thanks to Back to the Future. He was the biggest star at the time, but not when it comes to height — he’s only 5 feet, 4¼ inches tall.
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Al Pacino
Image Credit: Dominik Bindl/Getty Images Nobody wants to mess with Tony Montana in Scarface, but Al Pacino is only 5 feet, 7 inches tall.
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Luke Hemsworth
Image Credit: Dia Dipasupil/Getty Images Luke Hemsworth’s brothers, Liam and Chris, are both 6 feet, 3 inches tall, but Luke is a little shorter at 5 feet 9½ inches tall.
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Robert Downey Jr.
Image Credit: Vincent Collyer/Variety via Getty Images Robert Downey Jr. was half-an-inch shorter than his Iron Man co-star Gwyneth Paltrow — he’s 5 feet, 8½ inches tall.
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James McAvoy
Image Credit: Michael Buckner/Variety/Penske Media via Getty Images X-Men star James McAvoy is 5 feet 7 inches.
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Sylvester Stallone
Image Credit: Kristina Bumphrey/Variety via Getty Images The Rocky and Rambo star was one of the biggest action stars in the 1980s, but surprisingly, Sylvester Stallone is only 5 feet, 9½ inches tall.
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Dave & James Franco
Image Credit: David Buchan/Variety/Penske Media via Getty Images The Franco brothers are both in the under-six-foot group — Dave stands at 5 feet, 7 inches tall, and James towers over his little brother at 5 feet, 11 inches tall.
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Elijah Wood
Image Credit: Andrew H Walker/Deadline/Penske Media via Getty Images The Lord of the Rings star Elijah Wood is just 5′ 6″.
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Mark Hamill
Image Credit: Michael Buckner/Variety/Penske Media via Getty Images Harrison Ford towered over young Luke Skywalker, played by Mark Hamill, who stands at 5 feet, 9 inches tall.
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Jackie Chan
Image Credit: Michael Buckner/Variety/Penske Media via Getty Images Rush Hour actor Jackie Chan is a global superstar known for his spectacular martial arts and stunt work — he stands at 5 feet, 8½ inches tall.
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Joaquin Phoenix
Image Credit: Rob Latour/Variety/Penske Media via Getty Images Joaquin Phoenix is the shortest actor to play the Joker at 5 feet, 8 inches tall.
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Daniel Craig
Image Credit: Michelle Quance/Variety via Getty Images Daniel Craig is the shortest actor to play James Bond at 5 feet, 10 inches tall, but he’s also one of the most popular stars to don the 007 tux.
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Jeremy Renner
Image Credit: Gilbert Flores/Variety via Getty Images Jeremy Renner stands 5 feet, 9 inches tall — and proving that a lot of Marvel superheroes aren’t towering over their enemies.
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Jack Black
Image Credit: Presley Ann/Getty Images for The Skatepark Project Jack Black is just 5′ 6″ but what he lacks in height he definitely makes up for in personality.
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Mark Ruffalo
Image Credit: Bryan Bedder/Variety via Getty Images Wait a minute… the Incredible Hulk is only 5 feet, 8 inches tall? Yes, Mark Ruffalo is on the shorter superhero side.
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Steven Yeun
Image Credit: Elyse Jankowski/Variety via Getty Images The former Walking Dead star and 2020 Oscar nominee for Minari stands at 5 feet, 9 inches tall.
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Tom Holland
Image Credit: Nina Westervelt/Variety via Getty Images Tom Holland, at 5 feet, 8 inches tall, was cast as Spider-Man at the age of 19, making him of the youngest out of the contemporary trio of actors to play the role.
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Andrew Garfield
Image Credit: Gilbert Flores/Variety via Getty Images Andrew Garfield was the tallest of the three actors to play the role of Spider-Man — he’s 5 feet, 10½ inches tall.
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The Weeknd
Image Credit: Marc Piasecki/FilmMagic via Getty Images The Weeknd has a large stage presence but he’s surprisingly short at just 5 feet 8 inches tall.
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Tobey Maguire
Image Credit: Alex J. Berliner/ABImages via AP Images. Tobey Maguire led the way for the franchise as the original Peter Parker, and like Tom Holland, he’s 5 feet, 8 inches tall.
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Tobey Maguire
Image Credit: Mark Von Holden/Variety via Getty Images Tobey Maguire led the way for the franchise as the original Peter Parker, and like Tom Holland, he’s 5 feet, 8 inches tall.
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Johnny Depp
Image Credit: Variety via Getty Images It might be hard to believe, but The Pirates of the Caribbean star is a little shorter than you might have thought — he is 5 feet, 10 inches tall.
