In the popular show “American Horror Story,” Naomi Grossman plays the part of Pepper, who might not be what most people would call beautiful. In real life, though, the actor has a completely different look.

Grossman had to change in order to play Pepper, a character with microcephaly, in a way that was true to life. She was brave enough to shave her head and spent hours carefully putting on elaborate makeup. The Voice says that this complicated process would take between two and three hours a day.

Before her big part in “American Horror Story,” Grossman had already been in shows like “Sabrina, the Little Witch” and “The Mystery of Father Dowling.” She had also shown off her skills in a number of short pictures. But it was her role in “American Horror Story” that made her well-known to a wide audience.

Grossman’s natural look is very different without the makeup that makes her look like a different person. In fact, many die-hard fans of the series might not even know her if they saw her on the street.