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Matthew Fox - Alex Cross (2012)
The Movie Transformation: Lost leading man Matthew Fox played serial killer Picasso in 2012’s Alex Cross , disguising himself in the process. As well as shaving his head, the actor embarked on a brutal exercise routine - 90 minutes of circuit training every day for five months.
His total weight loss was a giant 44 pounds - about 3 stone, achieved in part by his physical efforts and by a strict diet of steamed chicken and broccoli supplemented by protein shakes. The result is staggering.
Matthew Fox Says: “I never watch my films while we’re making them, so when the images came out on the Internet, I was like, ‘holy shit.' I could hardly even believe it was me."
Jared Leto - Dallas Buyers Club (2013)
The Movie Transformation: For his supporting role in Dallas Buyers Club , Leto reduced his weight to a shocking 114 pounds - that’s a fraction above 8 stone.
His dedication to portraying a transsexual woman living with HIV in the 1980s extended far beyond weight control. He waxed his entire body, heightening the gaunt look he’d acquired through his loss of 40 pounds. Opting out of a punishing exercise routine, the actor simply stopped eating to reach his goal.
Jared Leto Says: “I just basically didn't eat. I ate very little. It was about how does that effect how I walk, how I talked, who I am, how I feel. You know, you feel very fragile and delicate and unsafe.”
Matthew McConaughey - Dallas Buyers Club (2013)
The Movie Transformation: Kissing his buff bod goodbye, Matthew McConaughey sought out a drastic alteration to his physique for his role as HIV-positive Ron Woodruff in Dallas Buyers Club . His original aim was to shed around two stone in order to accurately represent the Texan electrician. Which he did.
Bobbing around the 145 pound area, the actor felt he hadn’t reached his target and dieted further. Dropping another ten pounds, he remained dedicated to eating healthy foods in small quantities.
Matthew McConaughey Says: “...But then I hit 135 lbs. I ran in to somebody and they didn't just ask if I was all right, they said, ‘My God, we need to get you some help.’ And I thought, ‘There we go. That's the perfect spot.’”
50 Cent - All Things Fall Apart (2011)
The Movie Transformation: The 6ft tall musician adopted a strict regime for his portrayal of a cancer patient in All Things Fall Apart . His muscular 214 lb frame withered to a mere 160lbs, losing just under four stone in the process.
His method involved surviving on liquids only and taking to the treadmill for a gruelling three hour daily slog.
50 Cent Says: “I had so much muscle on me that it was hard for me to lose definition even as I got lighter and slimmer. I started running to suppress my appetite. Towards the end it was really difficult.”
Tom Hanks - Castaway (2000)
The Movie Transformation: In preparation for his role as pudgy Fed-Ex worker, Chuck Noland, Hanks piled on 40 pounds to bulk him out for the first half of the shoot.
Once they’d shot up until Noland’s marooning on a South Pacific island, director Robert Zemeckis rallied up the crew and popped off to make What Lies Beneath , leaving Hanks four months to lose the weight he’d gained, plus a tad more, for a total of 55 pounds. Hitting the gym and failing to chop his dreaded locks added to his waify look.
Tom Hanks Says: "The idea of looking at four months of constant vigilance as far as what I ate, as well as two hours a day in the gym doing nothing but a monotonous kind of work-out, that was formidable. You have to power yourself through it almost by some sort of meditation trickery. It's not glamorous.”
Matt Damon - Courage Under Fire (1996)
The Movie Transformation: For one of his breakout roles in 1996’s Courage Under Fire , Matt Damon prepared for his performance as a drug-addled Persian gulf veteran by shedding a gigantic three-and-a-half stone.
Most actors tasked with such an overhaul take advice from a nutritionist to avoid permanent physical damage. Not Damon, who in the year following, had to embark on a series of medications to heal his depleted adrenal gland.
A diet of chicken, egg whites, broccoli and a baked potato every day is tantamount to a buffet in comparison to dietary procedures employed by other actors on this list.
However, he also ran twelve miles every day for four months.
Matt Damon Says: “I went too far. I got sick and I wouldn't do that again because it was just too much. At the same time it helped the performance. I didn't have to act at all; I was a wreck. I was getting dizzy spells and hot flashes. I didn't say anything to anyone for a while because I was afraid I might be really ill.”
Jared Leto - Chapter 27 (2007)
The Movie Transformation: Schlubbing on the chub like nobody’s business, Jared Leto’s weight skyrocketed for his transformation in Chapter 27 . His performance as the man who murdered John Lennon, Mark David Chapman, required a vast calorific upping.
The sinewy singer of 30 Seconds To Mars barely tipped 100 pounds prior to chugging down pints of melted Haagen Dazs combined with lavish squirts of soy sauce and olive oil. Yum.
The sheer rotundity of his frame after piling on 67 pounds gave out as the shoot neared its end. Gout set in, causing Leto great pain when trotting to and from the set.
Jared Leto Says: “I’ve been fasting ever since. I've been doing this very strange, like, lemon and cayenne pepper and water fast. I didn't eat any food for 10 days straight; I think I lost 20 pounds in that first 10 days.”
Robert De Niro - Raging Bull (1980)
The Movie Transformation: For the performance that bagged him an Oscar, De Niro spent countless hours in the ring getting ripped for the role of middleweight boxer Jake LaMotta. The real La Motta took time out to go through a brutal training regimen with the actor, getting his buffed-up bod to an authentic state.
To depict the ex-boxer’s later years, De Niro piled on an additional 60 pounds. For one scene. At that point in production, director Martin Scorsese could only shoot for limited periods due to the overweight actor’s struggle for breath and general decline in health.
Now that’s what we call method.
Robert De Niro Says: “When I want to gain weight I eat more, and when I want to lose weight, I eat less.”
Charlize Theron - Monster (2003)
The Movie Transformation: Charlize Theron threw herself into a complete physical overhaul for her portrayal of serial killer Aileen Wuornos. Eyebrows? Who needs ‘em! Blemish-free complexion? Blotched to hell. Pristine pearly whites? Hidden behind a row of yellowed red-neck prosthetic teeth.
Of course, the weight gain was a blast for the actress, who piled on two stone to complete the look of Florida’s first female on death row by chowing down on crisps and doughnuts.
Charlize Theron Says: “I first began stuffing myself with Krispy Kreme doughnuts, but after a while I got sick of them.. I don’t know how I could have played that part with this body. I knew I had to transform my body to get myself into her physical skin."
Christian Bale - The Machinist (2004) / Batman Begins (2005)
The Movie Transformation: Christian Bale’s commitment to starving, gorging and exercising in order to pummel his physique to ‘method’ perfection was at its height during this back-to-back weight shift.
Dropping from his typically 175 pound physique to resemble the skeletal Trent Reznik in The Machinist , the actor lost 63 pounds - far surpassing the goal set by director Brad Anderson. Bale subsisted on meagre daily rations that’d barely sustain a gnat; an apple and a can of tuna.
It doesn’t stop there. During the five months following his radical loss he bulked up to a whopping 212 pounds. A staggering weight gain of seven stone was necessary for his role as beefcake billionaire Batman in Christopher Nolan’s Batman Begins .
Christian Bale Says: “I didn’t feel terrible to be honest. I felt quite fine once I got beyond the pangs of hunger, et cetera. Your stomach shrinks and you get used to it. And interestingly, I did find that mentally it was very, very calming being that skinny, because you really didn’t have any energy for expending on unnecessary things, so you just kept it simple.”
