Losing a large amount of weight for a role is a big commitment – it takes a lot of effort, both mentally and physically, as well as time and dedication. These 5 actors have all gone from perfectly healthy looking, altering their appearance to look dramatically thin for a part they’ve signed up for. Explaining how they did it and what they went through, these stars even put their own health on the line to look perfect for their role.
Christian looked frighteningly skinny in ‘The Machinist’ and says it took him to a different place mentally: “I was the calmest mentally that I’ve ever been in my life. You just go beyond any bodily needs. Your energy gets to such a low point that it all just becomes mental. You felt like some sort of guru that could go sit on top of a mountain. Mentally, it does wonders, but I would never sacrifice the joys, the ups and the downs, the roller coaster of life for that calmness. I’d rather be getting in there, getting involved and having it a bit more raw than that.”
Jake shed 20 pounds for ‘Nightcrawler’ and says it helped him get in to character: “Like I’m playing a character who’s hungry, figuratively and literally, who’s driven in ways to do things and succeed at any cost. And I think that defines a generation in a lot of way so I wanted to get their mentally and then have it transform me physically, because I am not one to rely on science as much as I am on just sort of instinct. That’s sort of the character.”
