Natalie Dormer had been cast in a variety of roles before being included in the final two films of the Hunger Games franchise, as the official filmmaker of the rebellion, Cressida. She had played Anne Boleyn in The Tudors, a soldier who lustfully threw herself at Captain America, and most famously Margaery Tyrell of Game of Thrones. In those cases (and others), her beauty and seductiveness are key components. So when she first appeared in Hunger Games Mockingjay Part I with half her head clean-shaven with an ivy tattoo wrapping along the side, fans were taken aback, to say the least. But with this new hairdo came a commanding, don't-mess-with-me presence that allows viewers to fully believe she's wandering around live battlegrounds.

While characters like Margaery may have gained the respect of audiences as someone who weaponizes her mind and uses her sex appeal as a strategic advantage, she never would have been described as physically intimidating. Cressida, however… well, you take one look at her and you know she's in control of the situation. The woman is marching around a war zone, never knowing if she's about to step on a land mine, and she's totally unfazed! 

It was something of a calculated risk for Dormer to shave half her head while being primarily known as one of the most beautiful women on the most popular show on television, but if you see the result in both Mockingjay installments, it clearly pays off.