Some actors are known for doing just about anything to stay fit and fabulous. More than a few spend tons of money on personal trainers, liposuction, nose jobs, botox injections and butt implants, while others shop designer clothes, bags and shoes like there is no tomorrow.
Still, there are some actors and actresses who have been willing to give up their “beauty” in order to make it on the big screen.
Here are eight actors who have sacrificed their toned bodies – and in some cases even their good looks – in order to make their characters come alive:
8. Renee Zellweger in “Bridget Jones’ Diary”
For her role in Bridget Jones’ Diary, Renee Zellweger gained about 20 pounds. In order to gain weight, she ate six pizzas and three chocolate bars a day, as well as sandwiches and lots of peanut butter, according to some online reports.
After gaining the weight, this actress managed to lose it so quickly that people started to wonder how she had done it… (According to the British tabloid the Daily Mail she mainly ate tuna or cold meat, salads and raw vegetables. She also worked out every single day.)
We think Zellweger actually looks much better with a little meat on her bones, what do you think?
7. Charlize Theron in “Monster”
The beautiful Charlize Theron managed to turn herself into serial killer Aileen Wuornos for the 2003 movie “Monster”. Theron took home an Academy Award for Best Actress for her portrayal.
Theron gained about 30 pounds for the role.
6. Tom Hanks in “Cast Away”
Tom Hanks lost a whopping 55 pounds for his role as FedEx executive Chuck Noland, who survives a plane crash and ends up on a deserted island, in the 2000 movie “Cast Away”.
The rumor has it that the production of the movie was halted for a year so Hanks could turn into a skinny, bearded man for his time spent on the island. During this break, director Robert Zemeckis is said to have used the same crew to shoot the psychological horror movie “What Lies Beneath”.
5. Sylvester Stallone in “Cop Land”
Even though we have never really considered Sylvester Stallone “good looking”, we decided to include him on our list because he actually gained about 40 pounds for his role as a the sheriff of a suburban New Jersey community populated by NYC police officers in the 1997 crime drama “Cop Land”.
4. Matt Damon in “The Informant”
Matt Damon gained about 30 pounds for his role in the upcoming movie “The Informant”. The 37-year-old actor, who was named People Magazine’s Sexiest Man Alive last year, has reportedly said: “Now I’m the Sexiest Man Alive’s chunky cousin!”
“The Informant” is a dark comedy thriller. It is based on a true story and directed by Steven Soderbergh. The film will be released on March 27, 2009.
3. Eric Bana in “Chopper”
Eric Bana ended up as No. 3 on our list because he totally managed to change his appearance in order to portray the infamous criminal Chopper Read in the Australian 2000 movie “Chopper”. For this role, Bana shaved his head and gained about 30 pounds. The rumor has it that the real Chopper Read suggested that Bana cut his ears off in order to capture his true personality, but Bana said no.
2. Jared Leto in “Chapter 27”
Actor Jared Leto, who by the way is a vegetarian, gained more than 67 pounds in order to portray John Lennon’s assassin, Mark Chapman in the 2007 movie “Chapter 27”.
In an interview with the Los Angeles Times, Leto talked about his weight gain and admitted that he was not sure if it was the wisest thing to do. “A friend of mine was recently going to gain weight for a film, and I did my best to talk him out of it. Just because you can lose the weight doesn’t mean the impact it had on you isn’t there anymore,” Leto said.
1. Christian Bale in “The Machinist”
Actor Christian Bale’s (aka Batman) transformation is the most extreme we have ever seen! For his role as the chronic insomniac Trevor Reznik in the psychological thriller “The Machinist”, Bale actually went without proper rest for long periods of time. He reportedly also placed himself on a diet of coffee, tuna and apples, and managed to lose more than 60 pounds! By the end of filming, it is said that Bale weighed only 121 pounds.
“I started off at 184 pounds when I first stepped onto the scales the day that I started doing the diet, and I got down to 121… It just became a kind of an obsession – I was also intrigued to see how far I could take it”, Bale has been quoted as saying in a BBC article.
