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Forest Whitaker in Lee Daniels' The Butler (2013) - Playing a historical character is on the wish list of nearly every actor, and usually a sure-fire way to awards recognition. Here is our list of celebs who tackled icons in history. After an Oscar-winning turn as Idi Amin in 2006's The Last King of Scotland, Whitaker is back to the historical dramas with Lee Daniels' The Butler. In theaters this Friday, Whitaker plays Cecil Gaines, a White House butler who serves eight presidents and has a front row seat to the most significant events of the 20th century. (Photo: The Weinstein Company)

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Benicio del Toro in Che (2008) - The Puerto Rican actor played iconic Argentine revolutionary Che Guevara in the four-hour film. The accomplished actor won rave reviews for his role as the Marxist leader, but didn't receive an Oscar nod. Sean Penn famously said, "I don't understand. That is such a sensational movie, Che. Benicio is f-----g good in it. And the fact that I'm not running into these people on this awards-party circuit, it's crazy." Regardless of getting no love from the Academy Awards, Del Toro's Che is considered one of the best portrayals of the icon to date. (Photo: Courtesy of Warner Bros.)

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Chadwick Boseman in 42 (2013) - Director Brian Helgeland must have seen something very special in Boseman to trust the relative-newcomer to play Jackie Robinson in his biopic of the baseball great. His instinct was correct — Boseman earned critical acclaim and even the approval of Robinson's widow Rachel for his performance.(Photo: AP Photo/Warner Bros. Pictures, D. Stevens)

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Salma Hayek in Frida (2002) - Known mainly for her killer body and gorgeous face, Hayek had her Halle Berry moment when she earned an Academy Award nomination for her portrayal of Mexican artist Frida Kahlo. Hayek, who also produced the film, had to fight many naysayers to win the role and her performance speaks for itself.  (Photo: REUTERS/HO/Landov)

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Will Smith in Ali (2001) - It was the Fresh Prince as we had never seen him before. Smith amazed as iconic boxer Muhammad Ali in this powerful biopic, bringing the one-two punch of uncanny physical likeness and deep, nuanced performance to the role. The actor earned an Academy Award nomination for Ali, which was at the time a rare chance for audiences to see Smith in a dramatic role. (Photo: Peter Brandt/Getty Images) 

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Denzel Washington in Malcolm X (1993) - Washington has played a number of historical figures, including Steve Biko and Rubin "Hurricane" Carter, but he'll perhaps best be known for his portrayal of controversial civil rights leader Malcolm X in the eponymous biopic directed by Spike Lee. Washington was fresh off his Oscar-winning turn in Glory when he took on the challenging role, which earned him another Oscar nod and a host of other awards.  (Photo: Courtesy of 40 Acres & A Mule Filmworks)

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Morgan Freeman in Invictus (2009) - The veteran actor earned his fifth Academy Award nomination for his role as Nelson Mandela in Clint Eastwood's drama. It seemed like the role Freeman was born to play, and certainly became the standard-bearer of portrayals of the South African leader on the big screen. (Photo: Courtesy of Warner Bros.)

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Don Cheadle in Hotel Rwanda (2004) - The story of Paul Rusesabagina, the Rwandan hotelier who heroically helped his people escape genocide, may have been overlooked by history, but Cheadle's portrayal of the man secured his place among the heroes of the 20th century. Cheadle earned an Academy Award nomination for his performance and continued to advocate for Rwanda long after the film left the box office. (Photo: Courtesy of Lions Gate)

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Zoe Saldana in Nina (2013) - Zoe Saldana's portrayal of Nina Simone kicked up a storm of controversy before even a single frame of the film was shot. The decision to cast the beautiful Domincan actress as Simone has been divisive, but Saldana will have a chance to prove her haters wrong when the film comes out later this year.(Photo: Coqueran/FameFlynet)

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Halle Berry in Introducing Dorothy Dandridge (1999) - Berry not only bears a striking physical resemblance to Dorothy Dandridge, whom she portrayed in this 1999 television movie, the stars' personal lives show several parallels as well. Like Dandridge, Berry was born in Cleveland, Ohio. Dandridge was the first Black woman to be nominated for an Oscar; Berry was the first to win one. And Berry was born almost exactly one year after Dandridge died. For her role as the 1950s beauty, Berry was nominated for several awards, including a Golden Globe. (Photo: Courtesy of HBO)

Photo By Photo: Courtesy of HBO

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Angela Bassett and Mary J. Blige in Betty & Coretta (2013) - The two venerable stars were perfectly cast as civil rights sisters Coretta Scott King (Bassett) and Betty Shabazz (Blige) in this television movie. Though they only met once in reality, King and Shabazz were both as influential on the civil rights movement as their husbands were.  (Photo: Courtesy of the Sanitsky Company)

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Madonna in Evita (1995) - At the peak of her sexual rebellion at the time, Madonna had to lobby hard for the role of Argentina's sweetheart Eva Péron. After completing production, she told director Alan Parker, "This is the role I was born to play...I am prouder of Evita than anything else I have done." Thankfully, critics agreed and Evita became a rare highlight in her otherwise-mocked film career.(Photo: Courtesy of Buena Vista Pictures)