Here are the furry co-stars that stole the scenes from some of film-history's biggest names...

Ever since the dawn of cinema (and probably the dawn of man!), there have been toupees, hairpieces and wigs galore. Often concerned with the image of their leading men, the studios made sure their male leads looked perfect in every way, and that included hair. Whether they actually had any was immaterial.

For a young actor, going thin early-on was potentially the kiss of death, so like it or not, the prop department would come up with a suitable rug. Bing Crosby absolutely hated his widow’s peak wig, and it was said that Frank Sinatra, himself a toupee wearer, would arrive at the Pearly Gates and give God a hard time for making him go bald!

Others, like Sean Connery, only wore a hairpiece for a movie and happily walked around in real life au natural without any fear of his thinning pate harming his career.

So for a bit of fun, let's check out the ten stand-out movie thatches that chewed the scenery in their own right...

10: Peter Cushing: Frankenstein and the Monster from Hell (1974)

Mr. Cushing was never without the familiar (and more convincing) white-haired toupee he used in most of his early seventies horror films (he never wore it in real life), but opting for an awful bouffant rug for his last appearance as Frankenstein was a big mistake. Even he admitted he looked like Helen Hayes! Worse, it was a return appearance: the wig had already plagued him once in And Now the Screaming Starts (1973).

9: Terry-Thomas: Brothers in Law (1957)

Forever the cinema’s ultimate upper-class cad, bounder and scoundrel (who normally used his own hair), the great TT was cast against type as a cockney spiv in this classic British comedy. For a more convincing look, he is sporting an incredibly shiny wig with a Mount Everest style widow's peak. It must have been one of Bing Crosby’s cast-offs.

8: Rod Steiger: The Kindred (1987)

Steiger’s later career had already declined as fast as his hairline when he appeared in this dreadful slasher flick. It’s all very well to wear the type of seventies comb-over wigs used by Mel Ferrer, Cliff Robertson and Brian Keith, but it would have been advisable to find one that actually fitted him properly.

7: Frank Sinatra: Dirty Dingus Magee (1970)

The dodgy toupee-wearer, wearing a toupee dodgier than anything he wore in real life. Playing the title role in this comedy western, ‘Ol' Blue Eyes’ goes for the Beatle-fringe, which in all honesty looks like it was removed from a mop.

6: Ian McDiarmid: Star Wars Episode One: The Phantom Menace (1999)

There is nothing wrong with the Scots actor’s toupee - until the end! Arriving on the Planet Naboo, Senator Palpatine turns up wearing a different rug. It’s a darker colour, much smaller, and looked as though it slipped back slightly on his forehead. Can you spot it, folks?

5: Sean Connery: Zardoz (1974)

Although the Scottish acting legend happily declared his baldness in real life, he continued to wear wigs for his film roles. Most of them are excellent, bar the backcombed pony-tail look from this rather silly slice of John Boorman sci-fi. At least it seemed to find a later home on Steven Seagal’s head.

4: Graham Chapman: Monty Python's The Meaning of Life (1983)

The Monty Python boys always used a variety of comedy wigs for their sketches, but the real stand-out is Graham Chapman’s amazing curly mop for his 'Christmas in Heaven' song and dance routine. It resembles a terminally ill hamster that’s been through the washing machine. And the tombstone teeth complete the 'full cheese' effect.

3: Reece Sheersmith: The Cottage (2008)

The League of Gentlemen comedy star is wearing a baldy wig for this hilarious British comedy horror. Makes a change from the norm, even if it does look like a proper wig that has been run over several times by a lawn mower.

2: John Malkovich: Johnny English (2003)

To match his fake Inspector Clouseau French accent, the great American actor opted for an equally unconvincing collar-length grey mop that's long overdue a bowl of milk. I do object to cruelty to animals in situations like this.

1: Samuel L. Jackson: Pulp Fiction (1994)

Jackson’s performance is so brilliant, it’s easy to forget his weird-looking, lank afro wig (no doubt given to him by Graham Chapman after one wash too many) and the droopy moustache that gave him his career-defining look. But with John Travolta’s hair extensions from Hell and Uma Thurman's jet black bob, he looks totally at home. But then Sam L. has worn many a strange -looking rug in his long career; anyone see Unbreakable (2000)?

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