Psychology of the Hollywood Beard (Photos)
Mia Lopez
Published Apr 04, 2026
Ben Affleck
The Breakup Beard
The actor's breakup beard after the announcement of his divorce from Jennifer Garner did laps around the web.
Conan O’Brien
Image Credit: Photo Credit: AP Photo/Chris Pizzello; Paul A. Hebert/Invision/AP The Depression Beard
The late-night host grew a full one during his self-described depression following his firing from The Tonight Show in 2010.
Jon Stewart
Image Credit: Photo Credit: Scott Kirkland/Invision for the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences/AP Images The Director Beard
"With a beard, suddenly Jon Stewart is not the wisecracking former talk show host, but a director and producer," psychotherapist Dennis Palumbo tells THR. "It seems that any time an actor or writer wants to direct a film, they’ll often grow a beard."
Ty Burrell
Image Credit: Photo Credit: Anthony Behar; Paul A. Hebert/Invision for the Television Academy/AP Images The Hiatus Beard
When someone retires or "a show is canceled or on hiatus, you can finally just relax and grow your beard if, as a performer, you’ve always been clean-shaven," says Palumbo.
Andrew Luck
Image Credit: Photo Credit: AP Photo/R Brent Smith; AP Photo/AJ Mast The Lucky Beard
The Indianapolis Colts quarterback pronounced his whiskers "lucky" in an insurance commercial that aired during NBC’s Sunday Night Football.
Jon Hamm
Image Credit: Photo Credit: Charles Sykes/Invision/AP; Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP The Rehab Beard
In March, Jon Hamm showed up post-rehab at the Mad Men premiere in a white dinner jacket with clear eyes and a salt-and-pepper beard.
Leonardo DiCaprio
Image Credit: Photo Credit: Dennis Van Tine/Geisler-Fotopres/picture-alliance/dpa/AP Images; Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP The Reshoot Beard
Leonardo DiCaprio's The Revenant production beard, worn for an extended period to cover reshoots, juiced nasty rumors of it housing fleas.
David Letterman
Image Credit: Photo Credit: Ron Asadorian/Splash News/Corbis; CBS The Retirement Beard
David Letterman's retirement beard, spotted on Sept. 28 in Manhattan, announced more definitively than any press release that the CBS host had left the Late Show building for good. "When David Letterman would come back from vacation with a beard, I always felt betrayed because I didn’t like that he had a personal life," Jimmy Kimmel jokes to THR.
Jay Leno
Image Credit: Photo Credit: Rich Fury/Invision/AP The Viral Marketing Beard
Jay Leno's bald-headed, hairy-chinned Uber-driver disguise was part of a viral marketing stunt to promote his CNBC show Jay Leno’s Garage.
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