I agree that best female actress as a male is Julie Andrews as Victor Victoria. My favorite male actor in a female role is Robin Williams as Mrs. Doubtfire. Tom Hanks as Kip and Buffy Wilson in Bosom Buddies is a good one too.
I was knocked for a loop by Meryl Streep as the angry old Brooklyn rabbi in "Angels in America." I hadn't the slightest idea it was her--or any woman, for that matter--until the credits rolled. The make-up wizards had a lot to do with the success of the impersonation, but there's no denying her talent. She obviously studied the speech and mannerisms of angry old men very carefully.
You didn't mention male-to-female, but I recently saw a DVD of Dame Edna Everage (Barry Humphires) for the first time, and she is a hilariously funny "woman." For "Tom": Raquel Welch was in the 1970 movie of Gore Vidal's 1968 succes de scandale "Myra Breckenridge.
I cant really gove you an answer,but what I can give you is a way to a solution, that is you have to find the anglde that you relate to or peaks your interest. A good paper is one that people get drawn into because it reaches them ln some way.As for me WW11 to me, I think of the holocaust and the effect it had on the survivors, their families and those who stood by and did nothing until it was too late.