Brandon Sklenar Is Unrecognizable With Blonde Hair Transformation
See Taylor Swift, Teyana Taylor & More on the MTV VMAs 2026 Red Carpet
Brandon Sklenar is entering a new era—and it starts with a new look.
The It Ends With Us star stepped out at the 2026 MTV Video Music Awards Sept. 27 with a new ‘do, ditching his signature brunette locks for a dirty blonde hair makeover.
For the occasion, The Housemaid star donned black trousers, a white tank top and snakeskin shoes, pulling his look together with a black bomber jacket and statement sunglasses.
And while he may have strutted down the red carpet in style, all eyes were on his new hairdo as he sported blonde tresses while keeping his roots their true chocolate brown color.
The 36-year-old made his VMAs debut alongside his Rescue costar Hassie Harrison. In the film, which hits theaters next year, Sklenar and Harrison play a former couple who reunite to rescue their daughter after she’s been kidnapped.
“90 percent of this film is outside in nature, and I spent most of the time working with a dog and a horse,” Sklenar told People in an interview published Sept. 23, teasing his upcoming role as an ex-rodeo cowboy. “Seeing how that affects the crew and just the overall vibe on set, it’s a different tone when you’re in nature on a horse with a dog for a majority of scenes and filming.”
Photo by John Shearer/WireImage
He added, “It’s a different feeling, and it can be very meditative and healing spending that much time with a dog and a horse in nature all at once.”
Last year, Sklenar shocked fans with a separate reveal—his birth name. Indeed, he shared that his onscreen moniker isn’t his real name. After all, that would be Brandon Feakins.
As for why he made the switch?
“I took it because growing up, everyone would always mispronounce my last name,” Sklenar told People in an April 2025 interview. “It drove me absolutely crazy.”
That’s why instead of “something completely arbitrary,” the Drop actor opted to take his mom Francine’s maiden name when it came to choosing a professional moniker.
Photo by Monica Schipper/Getty Images
And while he still gets the occasional mispronunciation of his name, it bothers him much less than it used it.
“They do,” he said of people pronouncing his last name incorrectly, “but I could deal with that because I didn’t grow up with it being mispronounced. It was like an adult thing.”
“And now the more people are getting to know who I am, it's happening less and less,” he added, “but I just couldn't live with the other one being mispronounced in a public forum, because I would lose my mind because I just grew up with it constantly.”
But Sklenar isn’t the only star rocking a new ‘do. Keep reading for more celebs who have unveiled shocking hair transformations recently…
Whitney Leavitt/Instagram
Whitney Leavitt
The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives star channeled her OG MomTok era after cutting her long tresses into a chic bob in September 2026.
Harold Feng/Getty Images/TheImageDirect.com
Connor Storrie
The Heated Rivalry star shocked fans after swapping out Ilya Rozanov's signature curls for a buzz cut amid filming season two of the gay hockey romance in August 2026.
Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images for Netflix; John Cena/X
John Cena
Two weeks after attending the Little Brother premiere with a full head of brown hair, the WWE legend debuted a shaved look ahead of his second hair transplant.
"Round 2 of [Follicular Unit Extraction] Treatment and this time I went all in for best possible results," he wrote on X June 29, 2026. "Thank you Ken Anderson and the staff at Anderson Center for Hair for accompanying me on this journey!"
HBO/Disney/Chris Bartolucci
John Oliver
The Last Week Tonight host debuted jet-black hair for a guest role on ABC's long-running soap opera General Hospital.
Grant Buchanan/Dave Benett/Getty Images; Dave Benett/Getty Images
Kelly Osbourne
During London Fashion Week 2026, the Fashion Police alum donned a short black wig featuring blunt asymmetric bangs to walk the Natasha Zinko x OnlyFans show.
Raymond Hall/GC Images; Instagram/Carrie Underwood
Carrie Underwood
Trading in her signature golden locks, the country music star wrote on Instagram in August 2025, "Well, the last time I saw my natural hair color, I was probably about 12 years old, but I thought it might be time to give it a second chance."
Jamie McCarthy/WireImage; Matt Baron/BEI/Shutterstock
Sebastian Stan
The Marvel actor said goodbye to Bucky Barnes' signature long hair in April 2025, showing off a shaved head at the Los Angeles premiere of Thunderbolts*.
Steve Granitz/FilmMagic
Tan France
The Queer Eye star had fans doing a double take when he ditched his signature gray hair for a dark brown 'do in April 2026. The fashion stylist noted at the time that the dramatic transformation was for a role and "not a midlife crisis."
Sami Sheen/Instagram
Sami Sheen
The daughter of Charlie Sheen and Denise Richards shared her at-home hair dying journey, including its many missteps, on TikTok and raved about the results.
“I've been wanting to do this to my hair for years now," she said, "and I'm so happy that I finally did it.”
Valerie Terranova/WireImage; Amy Sussman/Getty Images
Selma Blair
In September 2026, the Legally Blonde actress traded in her long bob for a curly pixie cut.
Edward Berthelot/Getty Images / Taylor Hill/FilmMagic
Jessica Chastain
The Help star debuted her "choppity chop," she she put it, on the red carpet of the Breakthrough Prize Ceremony in April 2026.
Shane Anthony Sinclair/Getty Images; Instagram/Jason Momoa
Jason Momoa
In July 2025, the actor shaved off his beard for the first time in six years to film Dune: Part Three, which required him to rock a clean shaven look to reprise his role of Duncan Idaho.
Denise Truscello/Getty Images for Live Nation Las Vegas/Instagram/NBC
Kelly Clarkson
The American Idol winner debuted a shorter hairdo in a July 2025 The Voice promo, trading her signature blonde waves for a shorter, darker bob style.
Instagram / Chris Pratt / Matt Baron/BEI
Chris Pratt
The actor debuted a bearded look, which he sports on season two of The Terminal List, in June 2025.
John Nacion/Variety via Getty Images; Jun Sato/WireImage
Finn Wolfhard
The Stranger Things star changed up his trademark shaggy hairstyle in May 2025 by debuting a buzzcut at the 2025 Crunchyroll Anime Awards in Tokyo, Japan.
Jon Kopaloff/Getty Images; Steve Granitz/FilmMagic
JoJo Siwa
In March 2025, the "Karma" singer debuted her rainbow mohawk at the GLAAD Media Awards.
Instagram; TikTok
Emily Ratajkowski
In a March 2025 TikTok video, the model called this 'do with shaggy bangs the "worst haircut of my life."
Instagram / Gypsy Rose Blanchard
Gypsy Rose Blanchard
The Gypsy Rose: Life After Lockup star debuted a short bob in March 2025, more than two months after giving birth to her and fiancé Ken Urker's first child, daughter Aurora Urker.
Clifton Prescod/Bravo/Charles Sykes
Whitney Rose
The formerly blond Real Housewives of Salt Lake City star debuted a red bob on Watch What Happens Live in January 2025.
Instagram / Hailey Bieber
Hailey Bieber
The model debuted lighter locks in September 2024, a month after giving birth to her and Justin Bieber's first baby, son Jack Blues Bieber.
Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images/Araya Doheny/FilmMagic
Lily Collins
The Emily in Paris star debuted her dramatic transformation at the world premiere of her new horror movie, MAXXXINE, in June 2024.
"Changing my hair always brings out different sides of my personality and I love playing around," Lily told Vogue. "This cut and color feels bolder and yet somehow lighter. And completely more me—right now."
Sean Zanni/WireImage/John Nacion/Variety via Getty Images
Katie Holmes
While attending Chanel's Tribeca Film Festival Artists dinner in June 2024, Katie debuted a subtle, yet striking transformation of rich caramel balayage highlights that were blended throughout her brunette tresses.
Kylie Jenner / Instagram
Kylie Jenner
The Kardashians star debuted a platinum blonde look and a bob haircut after rocking waist-length strands for quite some time.
"Did someone say they missed king kylie," Kylie teased in the caption of her June 8 Instagram post, to which her sister Khloe Kardashian cheekily replied, "I did! I did!!!!!!"
Gilbert Flores/Variety via Getty Images/Pierre Suu/Getty Images
Lisa Rinna
The former Bravo star debuted a platinum blonde look during 2024 Paris Fashion Week Haute Couture.
Elisabetta Villa/Getty Images for Bulgari/Prodip Guha/Getty Images
Priyanka Chopra
The Heads of State star debuted a drastic haircut—a shoulder-grazing bob—while attending a Bulgari event in Rome i May 2024.
TikTok / Jessica Biel
Jessica Biel
In May 2024, the actress chopped her hair into a bob that many fans on social media said reminded them of one of the looks she sported as Mary Camden on the '90s series 7th Heaven.
Instagram / Megan Fox
Megan Fox
The Transformers actress returned to her dark brown tresses and debuted a sassy bob in May 2024, a month after she dyed her hair blue to enter what she dubbed her "Jedi era."
Stephen J. Cohen/Getty Images
Dannielynn Birkhead
At age 17, the daughter of the late Anna Nicole Smith debuted a new lob hairstyle overnight during 2024 Kentucky Derby weekend, which she attended with dad Larry Birkhead.
Emma McIntyre / Getty Images for Baby2Baby / Instagram / Demi Lovato
Demi Lovato
The singer debuted a lighter, shorter 'do in April 2024.
Kelly Osbourne/Instagram
Kelly Osbourne
The Fashion Police alum debuted a blonde bombshell hair transformation May 8.
For the latest breaking news updates, click here to download the E! News App
KioskNews shows a cleaned-up reading view extracted from the publisher’s page — the original always lives on their site, not ours.