Steve Carell is unrecognisable in first image from Foxcatcher

If his name wasn't in the headline, you probably wouldn't realise that the above image is actually of comedian Steve Carell.

Donning a faux-nose to play John DuPont, this is the first official image of Carell from Moneyball director Bennett Miller's Foxcatcher .

The story follows DuPont, the real-life murderer who befriended Olympic wrestling siblings Mark (Channing Tatum) and David Schultz (Mark Ruffalo). Which didn't exactly end well...

“We just had our first test [ screening ], and not everybody recognised Steve. He is aged [ for the film ], and his face is changed, and his physicality changed,” Miller told Entertainment Weekly .

Carell's casting, though, was pivotal in keeping audiences on their toes.

“If I say I’m going to make a movie about a guy who’s a schizophrenic murderer, there are probably a dozen actors who would immediately appear on anybody’s casting list," Miller goes on. "And Steve would not be on any of those lists.”

No kidding. Here's hoping he can successfully 'pull a Robin Williams' and go from funny to fiendish with suitably chilling results.

Foxcatcher opens in the UK on17 January 2014.