Now, we’re generally pro-scruff in all its forms, but his week, we stumbled across a photograph of David Bowie rocking a delicate, demure beard, and we were just a little bit shocked. After all, for all the man’s stylistic hijinks, we’ve never seen him with a beard before, and there’s something distinctly strange about it. Some men can transition in and out of beards with no drama, but some faces have become so iconic in their clean-shaven state that a beard is frankly unsettling. Inspired by Bowie, we’ve put together a collection of the most shocking beards that have popped up on the faces of generally bare-faced celebrities (whether in recent memory or in the willful days of their youth), after the jump. Click through to check out these surprising beards, and let us know if we missed your favorite (or if we’ve inspired you to rethink that summer scruff) in the comments.
Though we’ve seen David Bowie in many states of dress, undress and facepaint, we’ve never seen him with a beard before. Like almost everything else, however, it seems to suit him. [via]
We were astounded when we came across this photo of Mick Jagger in Paris in 1979. We never thought it would be possible, but he manages to almost completely obscure that signature pout. [via]
We’re not sure what the current straitlaced Stephen Colbert would think about his younger, free-wheeling and bearded self. At least he still has a sweater on over his button down like a respectable fellow. [via]
Not to be outdone… Remember when Jon Stewart came back from vacation with this on his face? At least he had a good explanation. [via]
The media went bonkers last year when Robert Pattinson proved that he has some testosterone in him after all by growing a pretty unruly beard. We wonder if it sparkles. [via]
Maybe it’s just because we were so used to the ever-unruffled and clean cut Don Draper, but we were totally shocked to see Jon Hamm in this heavy beard at the 2010 Golden Globes. [via]
When 30 Rock isn’t filming, Alec Baldwin is Santa Claus. [via]
We think we knew somewhere in the back of our heads that Jim Morrison once looked like this, but we admit we always picture him as completely clean shaven (and, um, shirtless), so this picture was something of a surprise. [via]
Phil Collins with a serious face full of hair. [via]
Bonus: this is the perennially befurred Kevin Smith without a beard. He looks like an adorably chubby Harry Potter presenting a taco for show and tell. [via]