Epic Movie Beards Trivia Quiz

Answer: Star Wars: The Last Jedi

In "Star Wars: The Last Jedi", Mark Hamill reprises his character of Luke Skywalker whom he has portrayed since "Star Wars: A New Hope". However, in the first trilogy of movies, Luke is young, dashing, and he is definitely clean-shaven. For "Star Wars: The Last Jedi" (and a little bit at the end of "Star Wars: The Force Awakens") Hamill had to grow a beard. This made Luke seem wiser and more thoughtful, and, seeing as how Luke would create an epic ending to the movie, he needed an epic beard.

The eighth installment in the "Star Wars" saga sees Rey seeking assistance in honing her powers by asking Luke Skywalker to be her mentor. Luke is initially hesitant because of his past experiences with Kylo Ren and Rey's deep connection with him. The enemy forces find the Resistance and attack them, but Luke manages to use subterfuge to buy time for the Resistance which allows them to escape to fight another day.

Answer: X-Men

Hugh Jackman played the role of Wolverine, also known as Logan, for the 2000 film "X-Men". He then reprised his role eight times, well, nine if you count using past footage, and set a record for the longest role as a superhero. That's right, 18 years of playing the same character! For a role this epic, one must have an epic beard. No moustache, just mutton chops and a lumberjack-type rugged appeal to go along with the role.

The original "X-Men" movie was released in the year 2000. It depicted the struggle between Professor Xavier's X-Men and Magneto's mutants and showed the history of each of these powerful characters. The film was widely successful and spawned an entire film series with ties to the comic book characters.

Answer: Serpico

"Serpico" was a 1973 film that told the story of Frank Serpico, a New York cop who goes undercover to expose systemic and repeated corruption in the NYPD. While the character initially grows a moustache alone, as the hardships that Frank Serpico goes through get worse and the persecution and dismay grow heavier, Al Pacino grown a significantly epic beard to go along with the part.

It certainly helped the Academy decide when they nominated Al Pacino for the award of Best Actor. He eventually lost to Jack Lemmon for his role as Harry Stoner in "Save the Tiger".

Answer: The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou

"The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou" was a 2004 comedy-drama that starred the iconic Bill Murray as Steve Zissou, an oceanographer who has not produced a successful documentary in a while. When his best friend and team member is eaten by a massive luminescent creature that Zissou calls a jaguar shark, he is determined to track it down and destroy it (while filming a documentary about it). Ultimately, Zissou leaves the creature alone but is still able to produce a winning documentary.

For the role, Bill Murray grew a luxurious white beard. He also wears a red touque that reminds us of Jacques Cousteau who used to wear a similar one. The character of Steve Zissou is at the same time spoofs the great French oceanographer but also pays him tribute, especially since the film is dedicated to him.

Answer: Sergio Leone's "Dollars" trilogy

The "Dollars" trilogy features Clint Eastwood as the man-with-no-name, a sort-of antihero who does good, but in a roundabout way. The trilogy consists of "A Fistful of Dollars", "For a Few Dollars More", and, "The Good, The Bad And The Ugly", all directed by Sergio Leone and all filmed in Italy. These films sparked the Spaghetti Western genre, named for the country where the films were shot.

While these films were Westerns, the idea for the script came from Akira Kurosawa's "Yojimbo" featuring a samurai with no name and no master (a ronin). Clint Eastwood took on the role and his gruff, rough, and tough exterior really helped form his character. A really epic beard certainly helped, which Eastwood grew and even lit a match off of.

Answer: The Revenant

The beard that Leonardo DiCaprio has in "The Revenant" is all his, believe it or not. Perhaps one of the most epic real beard out there in Hollywood, maybe it was because of the facial hair that DiCaprio won his first Academy Award. Alejandro González Iñárritu directed the critically acclaimed 2015 film, also winning the award for best director at the same Oscars ceremony.

The story behind the movie is that of trapper and trader Hugh Glass and his experiences exploring the sources of the Missouri river. Glass joined up with General Ashley to help 'pacify' the territory against the local Arikara tribe and faced many adversities. When Glass got mauled by a bear, he was left for dead and managed to crawl some 200 miles to salvation. The movie uses his story as a basis for the plot, but prodigiously embellishes much of the story.

Answer: 300

Gerard Butler took on the role of King Leonidas for the film "300". As the King of Sparta, he hears that the Persian army is approaching and leads his forces to stop the invaders so that Greece would be able to muster and save themselves. His forces number only 300 soldiers - hard and able men of Sparta. The invaders number in the thousands and are well-equipped and have strength of numbers. The Spartans majestically manage to hold of the Persians and, a year later, the Greeks manage to repel the invaders while remembering the sacrifice that the 300 made with their lives for all of Greece.

Gerard Butler grew a traditional Spartan beard for the movie. It was long, luxurious, and definitely very epic. Compared to the gold luster-dust-covered God-king Xerxes of Persia, Leonidas may have looked a bit like a ruffian, but, without the beard, he would not have been nearly as courageous in battle.

Answer: Flash Gordon

The 1980 film "Flash Gordon" was a success in its United Kingdom home but failed to make much of an impact in the other markets. However, largely due to a soundtrack by rock band Queen, this movie grew a cult following. In the movie, football star "Flash" Gordon and his travel agent friend Dale are tricked into leaving Earth and landing on planet Mongo. This planet is ruled by the evil Emperor Ming and is threatening the destruction of Earth by causing natural disasters. Along the way Flash and Dale are captured by the winged men of Sky City which is ruled by Prince Vultan.

The prince, played by Brian Blessed, works for the Emperor, but changes sides when he learns how evil Ming really is. Of course, Flash and his friends manage to save the day and the planet.

Brian Blessed grew a thick luxurious beard for the role, a bit unkempt, but fitting for the character of Prince Vultan. Oh, and did I mention that the soundtrack was done by Queen?

Answer: The Big Lebowski

Okay, okay. Jeff Bridges often has an epic beard, but it was never as fitting as when he played Jeffery Lebowski in the movie "The Big Lebowski". Though this film started slowly, its popularity slowly picked up and the film gained a huge following. Hey, it even inspired me to start drinking White Russians. In the movie, a case of mistaken identity causes Jeffery Lebowski (often known as "The Dude") to be mixed up in a kidnapping of a millionaire's wife. What more, the millionaire and The Dude share the same name!

This funny film actually spawned a religion, a festival, and lent a name to two species of spiders. Through it all, Jeff Bridges maintains his character with devotion and integrity, and with a dudetastically epic beard.

Answer: Cast Away

Tom Hanks played Chuck Noland, a FedEx analyst who crashes on an uninhabited island in the 2000 film "Cast Away". With nobody around for miles Noland has to rely on his own skills and pick up new ones in order to survive for four years before making his escape. His best friend during that time - Wilson, a volleyball with a bloody hand print on it.

Now, the majority of the movie is all Tom Hanks and his 'dialogues' with Wilson. In order to create an epic feeling to how stranded Noland was (and probably more to show the passing of time), Hanks grew out his beard. It was pretty epic and Hanks won a Golden Globe for his efforts. However, I think it was actually Wilson who got the most accolades in the film.