Insane Actor Transformation For A Role

Published on LoanPride

The way you look creates the character and tells a story and while most actors relay on makeup artists and costume designers to make them look the part, some actors go method all the way and work out 24/7, keep a strict diet and sometimes even starve themselves just to look like the characters in the script.

The following actors and actresses morphed themselves into an entirely different person just for a role.

Christian Bale

Christian Bale is the king of metamorphosis with the most extreme body changes. For his role in "The Machinist" he lost 62 lbs (28 kg). For his role in "Batman Begins", he gained 99 lbs (44kg) mostly in muscles. For his role in "American Hustle", he gained 43 lbs (19.5 kg) of fat.

Tom Hardy

Tom Hardy got even bigger for his villainous part in "The Dark Knight Rises" and gained 30 lbs (14 kg) of muscles on top of the 30 lbs (14 kg) of muscle he gained for the movie "Warrior". That meant he added about 60 lbs (27 kg) of muscle in one year.

Matt Damon

Matt Damon was extremely dedicated to his weight for the film "Courage Under Fire" where he lost 50 lbs (22.5 kg) to look emaciated in just one scene. In 2009 he gained 30 lbs (14 kg)of fat for his role in "The Informant" and then lost the 30 lbs (14 kg) and added 15 lbs (6.8 kg) of muscle for his role in "Invictus".

Matthew McConaughey

Matthew McConaughey lost 47 lbs (21.3 kg) to play an AIDS patient in "Dallas Buyers Club". his sacrifice was worth it since McConaughey won an Academy Award for this role.

50 Cent

Rapper Curtis '50 Cent' Jackson lost 60 lbs (27 kg) to play a star football running back who is diagnosed with cancer in "All Things Fall Apart". While shooting 50 Cent weighed 160 lbs (72.5 kg) losing his entire muscular frame.

Chris Hemsworth

Australian Chris Hemsworth gained 20 lbs (9 kg) of muscle to play the Norse god of thunder in "Thor", which also put him on a regular gym workout regimen of lifting weights, something he has never done before joining the Marvel Cinematic Universe. On the other side of the scale, Hemsworth had to lose 15 lbs (6.8 kg) and living on 500 calories a day for 4 weeks, losing his muscular frame to play the stranded seaman First Mate Owen Chase in "In The Heart of The Sea".

Charlize Theron

The gorgeous South-African actress went all out to portray serial killer Aileen Wuornos in "Monster" and gained 30 lbs (13.6 kg) not to mention massive makeup makeover (or makeunder) to look like the troubled character. Her effort paid off when she won an Academy Award for this role.

Robert De Niro

Robert De Niro, always the method actor lost 35 lbs (15.8 kg) and spent two weeks as a New York cab driver to play the role of Travis Bickle in "Taxi Driver". For the role of middleweight boxer Jake LaMotta in "Raging Bull," De Niro gained 80 lbs (36.8 kg) of muscle and took home an Academy Award.

Russell Crowe

The usually fit Russell Crowe had to gain 63 lbs (28.5 kg) of fat for his role as the troubled journalist Ed Hoffman in "Body of Lies".

Hugh Jackman

In 2012 Huge Jackman lost 15 lbs (6.8 kg) and later regained 30 lbs (13.6 kg) to convey his character Jean Valjean's in "Les Misérables'" journey from poverty to success. A year later, Jackman gained 25 lbs (11.3 kg) of muscles for his role in "The Wolverine".

Tom Hanks

Tom Hanks lost 55 lbs (25 kg) to play Chuck Noland, a man stranded on a desert island after surviving a crash landing in "Castaway". Hanks won a Golden Globe award and an Oscar nomination for this role.

Colin Farrell

Colin Farrell lost 44 lbs (20 kg) for his role of a war zone photojournalist in the film "Triage". To achieve an emaciated thin appearance he reportedly lived on black coffee, Diet Coke, and tuna.

Jake Gyllenhaal

Jake Gyllenhaal likes to go method with his movie roles. For "Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time" he gained 35 lbs (15.8 kg) of muscle and for his intense role in "Nightcrawler" he lost 30 lbs (13.6 kg) and gained a Golden Globe nomination. For his next role as a boxer in "Southpaw" Gyllenhaal gained 45 lbs (20.4 kg) in muscle.

Chris Pratt

Funnyman Chris Pratt went into an extreme superhero makeover for his role in "Guardians of the Galaxy" losing 60 lbs (27.2 kg) of fat and gaining 23 lbs (10.4 kg) of muscle.

Jared Leto

An actor by day and a rock star by night, Jared Leto is very committed to his art. For his role as Mark David Chapman, John Lenon's infamous killer in "Chapter 27" Leto gained 67 lbs (30.3 kg) of fat and was unrecognizable. Six years later, Leto lost 40 lbs (18kg) to play Rayon in "Dallas Buyers Club", which won him an Academy Award and a Golden Globe award.

Renee Zellweger

Renee Zellweger had to gain 30 lbs (13.6 kg) twice to play the famous Brit in "Bridget Jones's Diary" in 2001 and again in 2004. In between Zellweger lost 21 lbs (9.5 kg) for her role as the glamorous Roxie Hart in "Chicago".

Anne Hathaway

Anne Hathaway lost 25 lbs (11.3 kg) to play the poor and unfortunate soul that is tuberculosis-stricken Fantine in "Les Misérables". Getting ready for her Oscar-winning role took a heavy toll on the already-slim Hathaway who lost 10 lbs (4.5 kg) in three weeks before filming and 15 lbs (6.8 kg) during filming.

Mel Gibson

Getting in the shoes of the ruthless rogue arms dealer, Conrad Stonebanks, in the action-packed "Expendables 3" Mel Gibson had to gain over 25 lbs of muscle (11.3 kg) which is not an easy task to do when you are 58 years old.

Matthew Fox

Becoming the serial killer Picasso who is also an underground fighter in the film "Alex Cross" required Fox to lose 44 lbs (20 kg) of body fat and get insanely ripped to sell the part and he became almost unrecognizable.

Mark Wahlberg

The world of Bodybuilding is no stranger to Mark Wahlberg, however, he needed to gain a massive amount of muscles in a short time to fit the part of Daniel Lugo in "Pain & Gain". Wahlberg gained 40 lbs (18.2 kg) of muscle in less than 2 months by eating 10-12 meals a day.

Adam Driver

Wanting to bring authenticity to a character on a quest in the 17th century under harsh climates Adam Driver lost 30 lbs (13.6 kg) for his role in Martin Scorsese's "Silence".

Mila Kunis

For her Golden Globe-nominated role in "Black Swan" Kunis underwent a harsh training regimen of ballet classes four hours a day, every day plus cardiovascular exercise and a strict 1,200 calories per day diet. She lost 25 lbs (11.3 kg) and even suffered some on-set injuries including a dislocated shoulder and a torn ligament.

Natalie Portman

Natalie Portman played a young ambitious ballerina in "Black Swan", a mentally and physically challenging part. To prepare for the role, Portman went through eight hours of dance training each day for six months and lost 20 lbs (9 kg). All of her hard work paid off when she took home the Golden Globe and an Academy award.

Bradley Cooper

In order to fit into the boots of real-life American hero Navy S.E.A.L. sniper Chris Kyle in Clint Eastwood's film "American Sniper", Bradly Cooper went into extensive boot camp training and gained 40 lbs (18.1 kg) in muscle. His hard work paid off when he received an Oscar nomination for the role.

Chris Evans

It's not easy getting into the shoes of one of the most iconic characters in American comic book history. For the part of Steve Rogers, AKA Captain America, Chris Evans had to pack 30 lbs (13.6 kg) of muscle which was more challenging than just hitting in the gym every day, his fast metabolism slowed him down and he had to keep eating and training to maintain the look (which he wasn't happy about).

Michael Fassbender

In preparation for his role as IRA prisoner Bobby Sands in Steve McQueen's "Hunger" Fassbender underwent a crash diet of 600 calories per day plus exercise that resulted in 42 lbs (19.5 kg) weight loss. Since the film focused on a hunger strike in prison, the always method Michael Fassbender had also stopped eating for a few days during filming to give his performance that extra edge.

Adrien Brody

For his Oscar-winning role of Wladyslaw Szpilman in Roman Polanski's "The Pianist", Adrian Brody nearly starved himself to lose 30 lbs (14 kg) in 6 weeks which brought him to a scary weight of 130 lbs (59 kg). Since it's paid off by making him the youngest actor to ever win a Best Actor Oscar, he decided to go all the way again, but this time he packed 25 lbs (11.3 kg) of muscle to play Royce the elite alien warrior in "Predators".

Gerard Butler

Becoming the Spartan warrior King Leonidas in the film "300" required Gerard Butler to lose all his body fat and end up with 200 lbs (91 kg) of muscle. He spent 4 hours a day, seven days a week training in a gym and underwent a rigorous training regime where the same exercise was never repeated twice for 8 weeks before filming.