Tilda Swinton's movie makeover a Trainwreck

Androgynous British actress Tilda Swinton has unveiled a new look so different from her signature style that she's practically unrecognisable.

The 54-year-old Swinton is well-known for her trademark look of cropped ice-blonde hair and pale skin, but teasers for her new film Trainwreck show an entirely different look.

She's famed for her eccentric, highly-costumed characters in films like The Chronicles of Narnia, but her new role as Dianna, the editor of a low-brow men's magazine could be her biggest transformation yet.

And it's one that the veteran actress is "delighted" with. She told Huffington Post that all it took was, "a lot of makeup and a kind of tandoori tan and a wig".

"I'm delighted to say that I'm unrecognisable," she said "I don't know whether one would really want to be recognisable in this role."

Following her more over-the-top roles, playing Dianna is like hiding under a veil of normality, Swinton says.

"But the truth is there are a lot of women walking around rocking Dianna's look, and I suppose you maybe didn't ever expect to see me in it," she said.

"But here we are, and it's available for everybody. You just have to go to a big makeup counter in a big department store and you, too, can get that look."

Trainwreck is a romantic comedy directed by Judd Apatow and written by Amy Schumer. It debuts in New Zealand on August 13.

- nzherald.co.nz