Six Actors Who Gained or Lost Weight for a Role
Six actors who gained or lost a headline-grabbing amount of weight for a role(s).
Six Actors Who Gained or Lost a Headline-Grabbing Amount of Weight for a Role(s)
Robert De Niro, Raging Bull (1980): Any questions as to De Niro's status as an acting deity were dispelled--at least till the dreaded '00s--when he pulled the ultimate Method actor trick, gaining 60 pounds to replicate boxer Jake LaMotta's washed-up, gut-over-belt post-retirement period. Let the trend begin.
Vincent D'Onofrio, Full Metal Jacket (1987): De Niro gained 60 pounds, eh? Well, D'Onofrio, in his first prominent role, gained 70, all for Stanley Kubrick.
Ren�e Zellweger, Bridget Jones' Diary (2001): Why would producers cast a curvy Brit when they could go for a scarily lithe American piece of hotcha? Zellweger dared gain a full 20 pounds, none of which she should have instantly lost. She put it back on for the sequel and then again returned to anemic. Because what potential role model would want to look like that Bridget Jones chick, am I right?
Charlize Theron, Monster (2004): Liz Taylor and Nicole Kidman have uglied themselves up for Oscars, but few purdy ladies have done what Theron did for her goldie-nabbing do. Not only did she pop in prosthetic teeth, gunk up her face and generally look, how they say, "unbangable," she put on 30 pounds. A model looking like the rest of us? Quel brave! (And that goes double for George Clooney and his Syriana lovehandles.)
Christian Bale, The Machinist (2004): Like Tom Hanks in Cast Away, Bale pulled a reverse De Niro, crash dieting off 60 pounds to play the near-skeletal lead with no other purpose to live. More impressively, he not only immediately bulked up for Batman Begins, but did the whole thing again with Rescue Dawn.
Jared Leto, Chapter 27 (2008): What to do if you're a has-been who's not crazy enough to be a walking punchline? Gain 67 pounds to play portly John Lennon assassin Mark David Chapman--and still get the worst reviews of your career. And opposite Lindsay Lohan at that.
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1. Lozzie said... on Apr 29, 2008 at 11:39PM
“Nice to see Vincent's world record remains unbroken.”
2. sandra said... on May 1, 2008 at 01:20PM
“Vincent is and remains the CHAMPION!!!!!!!”
3. Anonymous said... on Jun 15, 2010 at 05:14PM
“Are you kidding me? Yeah it's so hard to lose weight when you can afford to hire a personal trainer, personal chef, and work out 6 hours a day cause your not working 9-5!! F-OFF !!!”
4. Anonymous said... on Jun 15, 2010 at 11:50PM
“Hey anonymous at 5:14pm: If you are so upset about your weight then why don't you quit your 9-5 job and get busy living. Stop whining about being fat because you HAVE to work a 9-5 job. You choose to work that job.”
5. Anonymous said... on Jun 18, 2010 at 04:08PM
“Hey anonymous 11:50PM. So he can live off the Obama/Pelosi welfare state like you? I'd rather be a fat slob with a job and a future than a welfare fat or skinny welfare recipient whose main outlet of entertainment is FarmTown while supposed to be looking for a job.”
6. Anonymous said... on Jun 19, 2010 at 12:26AM
“Anonymous @ 11:50pm, You just got owned by anonymous @ 4:08 pm..”
7. DC said... on Sep 26, 2010 at 01:25PM
“I admire these actors so much. I think it is really hard to lose weight. So to put it on on purpose and then have to lose it, is a BIG deal. Kudos to all of them.”
8. Anonymous said... on Dec 4, 2010 at 12:04PM
“fat people dont get any puss. even skinny people w stank breath get tang easier!”
9. Vik Capella said... on Dec 5, 2010 at 06:06AM
“They're ambitious and full of energy - in the same situation I could do the same.”
10. Anonymous said... on Dec 5, 2010 at 11:55AM
“It's amazing that people are willing to gain and lose as they want and for a job no less. It's not the healthiest way to live and your body takes the hit. If you work with a Doctor to achieve your goal it is safer but if you're going at it alone watch out!! Crash diets and quick gains in weight can and has killed in past.”
11. Anonymous said... on Dec 30, 2010 at 10:07PM
“Robust health is part of growing process. You cannot interfere with nature, it will back fire on you in future.
Crash program of losing weight to get a role does not worth it. Remember, moderation is the rule rather exception, in everything we do.”