25 Actors Who Gained Or Lost Considerable Weight for Their Roles
Matthew McConaughey lost 40 pounds, and Jared Leto gained 60 pounds.
How difficult can acting be? Many of us have certainly fantasized about being a budding star who could easily portray a leading man or lady with a bit of luck and a little help learning the lines.
However, as any actor will tell you, it's a career that takes a great deal of skill and dedication. It often goes beyond just sliding into character and delivering a few lines here and there while wearing makeup or a fake mustache.
Would you be willing to put your body at risk in order to gain a lot of weight? Or to go on a month-long diet for a role-appropriate weight loss?
Or, in certain circumstances, to endure a torturous muscle-building regimen that necessitates six hours a day at the gym? After all, becoming a famous actor isn't easy at all.
We've decided to honor those notable celebrities who went to great lengths to modify their bodies, those who put in enormous physical and mental effort to represent their characters as truthfully and accurately as possible. Many of these actors deservedly received important accolades for their efforts.
Scroll down to see and learn about the tremendous transformations these celebrities endured in order to better represent their characters!
1. Mark Wahlberg
Wahlberg posted a photo of his earlier slim figure next to his new style, which he achieved by adding 20 pounds for his upcoming film, Stu.
Ian Lawrence/GC Images; Instagram2. Joaquin Phoenix
The Oscar winner revealed his 52-pound weight reduction for his role in Joker.
"Once you reach the target weight, everything changes. Like, so much of what's difficult is waking up every day and being obsessed over like 0.3 pounds. Right? And you really develop a disorder."
Christopher Polk/NBC; DC Comics/Warner Bros./Shutterstock3. Chris Pratt
He gained several pounds of muscle for his role in Guardians of the Galaxy.
NBC; Marvel
4. J.K. Simmons
When the star showcased his big biceps in Justice League, fans were astonished.
Getty Images; Instagram
5. Jake Gyllenhaal
After losing 30 pounds for Nightcrawler, he said: "I'd say my mother was worried; I would say she just wanted me to be careful. But she also knew and knows how seriously I take what I do, and she respects that."
Andrew H. Walker/Getty Images; Bold Films/Kobal/Shutterstock
6. Miles Teller
The actor muscled up for his roles in Whiplash and the Divergent franchise.
Jason Merritt/Getty Images for Giorgio Armani; Lionsgate
7. Michael B. Jordan
The Black Panther star gained roughly 30 pounds to play a boxer in the film Creed.
Andrew H. Walker/Getty Images; Barry Wetcher/Warner Bros/Mgm/Kobal/Shutterstock
8. Jared Leto
For his thrilling performance in The Dallas Buyers Club, the actor and musician won an Academy Award. For the role, he shed 40 pounds.
Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images; Anne Marie Fox/Voltage/Kobal/Shutterstock
9. Chris Messina
He added 40 pounds for his character in Live by Night.
Gary Gershoff/WireImage; Claire Folger/Warner Bros/Kobal/Shutterstock
10. Chris Hemsworth
The Thor actor lost weight for his role in In the Heart of the Sea. However, Hemsworth returned to his athletic form after filming.
INFphoto.com, Instagram
11. Renée Zellweger
The actress had to put on some weight to portray the likable character in the first and second movies of the Bridget Jones's Diary franchise.
Jim Smeal/WireImage, Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic
12. Chad Michael Murray
For his role as a drug user in Other People's Children, the actor lost 25 pounds.
AP Photo/Lionel Cironneau; Gregg DeGuire/WireImage
13. Matthew McConaughey
The Magic Mike star lost 30 pounds for his role in The Dallas Buyers Club, based on a true story about a dying man with AIDS in the 1980s who cured himself with homeopathic remedies imported into the US from Mexico.
Warner Bros/Kobal/Shutterstock; Voltage Pictures/Kobal/Shutterstock
14. Matthew Fox
He spent five months working out with the same instructor who helped Daniel Craig prepare for his James Bond role.
Summit Entertainment; ABC
15. Aaron Carter
In 2010, the artist shared a photo of his bulked-up body on Twitter with the caption:
"I've been at Johnny Wright's compound working on my mind, music, and body for a new album release!"
Kmazur/WireImage; Twitter
16. Taylor Lautner
After playing werewolf Jacob Black in the Twilight sequel, the young star transformed into a muscular heartthrob.
"The day I finished Twilight, I came home and started bulking up. For New Moon, I'm 30 pounds heavier than I was in Twilight."
Barry King/WireImage; SplashNews.com
17. Jason Segel
For his role in Sex Tape, the actor shed a significant amount of weight.
Getty Images; FameFlynet
18. Rooney Mara
The actress was thin and muscular for her lead character in The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo.
Jason LaVeris/FilmMagic; Ibl/Shutterstock
19. Anne Hathaway
The actress won an Oscar for her performance in the musical Les Misérables.
Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images; Working Title Films/Kobal/Shutterstock
20. Christian Bale
The actor shed more than 60 pounds for his character in The Machinist in 2004. For both American Hustle and Vice, he gained 40 pounds, and for Ford v Ferrari, he dropped 70 pounds.
Isa Foltin/WireImage; Moviestore/Shutterstock
21. Jake Gyllenhaal
For his role in the 2010 film Prince of Persia, the actor resembled a god rather than a prince. To bulk up for the film, Gyllenhaal stated he practiced Parkour, a French technique of street running.
Bei/Shutterstock; Disney/Kobal/Shutterstock
22. Tom Hanks
"All it is, is time and discipline." To play a guy left on an uninhabited island, he shed nearly 50 pounds.
Francois Duhamel/20th Century Fox/Dreamworks/Kobal/Shutterstock
23. 50 Cent
The usually ripped rapper surprised everyone with a photo of himself looking skinny. To play a football player who has cancer in Things Fall Apart, he reportedly went from 214 to 160 pounds in just nine weeks.
Lawrence Lucier/FilmMagic; Twitter
24. Robert De Niro
The famous actor had to put on some muscle to play rapist Max Cady in the 1991 thriller Cape Fear.
Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images; Moviestore/Shutterstock
25. Christian Bale
Before his performance in the 2018 film Vice, he had to put on some weight to play Vice President Dick Cheney.
Vivien Killilea/Getty Images; Matt Kennedy/Annapurna/Kobal/Shutterstock
It is amazing to see what some actors are willing to do to get into character. And that’s what makes them great actors.
Their job is to “sell” the character and make us believe they are real. It is evident that the people on our list are doing an excellent job.
