To become an actor, people prepare in different ways. Many earn a degree in theater or performing arts, while others may join local theaters to gain experience and build their network. The methodology is different too. Some actors visualize their characters to allow them to step into the role; some actors rely on method acting, which is a technique that allows them to become fully immersed in a role.
Whichever method they’ve chosen, these actors pushed themselves to extremes for a role and nailed it. Some of the best actors in Hollywood push themselves to transform into characters. For some, it’s a physical transformation aided by prosthetics, like Nicole Kidman in “The Hours,” or through diet and exercise, like Chris Pratt in “Guardians of the Galaxy.” For others, it’s a mental transformation, but regardless of which method used, these actors all have one thing in common – they went to extremes for a role, and it contributed to the film’s success.
To compile this list, we consulted popular entertainment websites, including IMBD, and watched a lot of movies. (If you love learning interesting things about your favorite actors, check out 15 Actors Who Are in Prison or Have Served Time.)
1. Mathew McConaughey – “Dallas Buyers Club”
Alright, alright, alright, let’s start our list with everyones favorite sexy Texan, Matthew McConaughey. In his 2013 film “Dallas Buyer’s Club,” he played Ron Woodroof, a real-life person who had AIDS and would bring medicine from Mexico illegally to the U.S. McConaughey had to completely transform his body to be able to realistically portray the gradual effects that AIDS has and the deterioration of his physique.
To drop fifty pounds, he ate a strict diet of egg whites, tuna, steamed vegetables, and wine. The wine part seems odd, and he didn’t specify if it was white or red, which would make a difference since white has more sugar than red. He claimed he didn’t exercise at all either. His efforts and extreme diet paid off, and the actor won an Oscar and Golden Globe for his performance.
2. Daniel Day-Lewis – “My Left Foot”
We could argue that Daniel Day-Lewis is one of the best actors of the twentieth century and maybe even of all time. He knows how to truly embody a character. The best example of this is his role as Christy Brown in “My Left Foot.” The actor embodied the character, who was based on a real person who had cerebral palsy but overcame it to become an artist and author.
Day-Lewis stayed in character throughout the production, only answering to the character’s name and staying in his wheelchair the entire time. He even made his assistant spoon-feed and carry him so he could completely feel what it must have been like to have limited movement. The role earned him an Oscar and cemented him as a truly dedicated method actor.
3. Jim Carrey – “Man on the Moon”
Comic Jim Carrey has always been the goofy, funny guy. His long career began on “In Living Color,” where he was a key player and held his own among the talented cast. But his role as comedian and actor Andy Kaufman was where Carrey’s talents shined. The actor portrayed Kaufman in “Man on the Moon,” a film about the eccentric comic who used to do weird things in his comedy act, like reading books on stage or challenging women to wrestling matches.
Carrey went deep into method acting, studying every quirk and mannerism, turning himself into Kaufman. Some of the cast praised his dedication to method acting, and others found it offensive, especially when he would dress as Kaufman’s crude alter ego, Tony Clifton. Despite annoying others onset, his performance turned out to be one of the best of his career.
Even the critics loved him as Kaufman, and he won a Golden Globe for his role. He later confessed in an interview that he sort of lost control and his sense of self after the film and struggled to return back to himself when the film wrapped. If you have seen the film, check out some old clips of Kaufmand first, then watch it so you can see for yourself just how much he nailed the character.
4. Anne Hathaway – “Les Miserables”
In “Les Miserables,” Anne Hathaway goes for it with her depiction of Fantine. The actress lost twenty-five pounds, a significant amount on anyway but even more drastic on an already thin frame. She said she lost it too fast and felt unhealthy mentally and physically during and after the filming.
She claims she ate nothing but dried oatmeal paste for two weeks to get that skinny, but it paid off as she won an Oscar for her gut-wrenching performance as the doomed woman.
5. Jared Leto – “Chapter 27”
Actor Jared Leto has been in many films and seems to be drawn to interesting characters. He played Mark David Chapman, the man who killed John Lennon in his film “Chapter 27.” The character was heavy set and had a distinct look that was vastly different from Leto’s. The actor gained close to seventy pounds for the role by eating ice cream blended smooth so he could drink it.
Leto became morbidly obese for the role, which makes you wonder if it was worth it as the film was not a huge success. Later, in “Dallas Buyers Club,” he went the other direction and lost forty pounds to play the transsexual prostitute with HIV AIDS. He said he lost the weight by restricting his food and that he thought it was forty pounds but that he stopped counting as he spiraled during the weight loss. Leto’s determination and discipline led him to an Oscar and Golden Globe for the role.
6. Charlize Theron – “Monster”
Charlize Theron showed everyone what she was capable of when she took on the role of real-life serial killer Aileen Wuornos. Theron gained thirty pounds by eating junk food, letting herself go, and not exercising at all. The transformation was shocking to audiences, but she gave a stunning performance as the troubled woman and picked up an Oscar for her efforts.
7. Chris Hemsworth – “In the Heart of the Sea”
Five years after Chris Hemsworth beefed up for “Thor,” he went the other way and lost weight for the 2015 Ron Howard historical drama “In the Heart of the Sea.” He played a shipwrecked sailor, and to be convincing, he had to lose quite a bit of bulk that he gained for his role as “Thor.” The actor lost a total of thirty-three pounds in a mere four weeks.
He said his strict diet consisted of boiled eggs and salad and that he was desperately hungry and underfed throughout the shoot. The film is based on an event in the early 1800s when a whaling ship capsized, and the crew were castaways. The story is said to have inspired Herman Melville to write his classic book. Overall, the film was not a hit despite Hemsworth’s amazing transformation.
8. 50 Cent – “All Things Fall Apart”
Rapper 50 Cent proved exactly what he is made of when he transformed himself to play a football star who gets cancer. The musician dropped from 214 pounds to 160 in just nine weeks. He credits the loss to a strict liquid diet and running on the treadmill for a whopping three hours a day. Unfortunately, the extreme weight loss did not help the film; it went straight to DVD.
However, the physical transformation seemed to have transformed 50 Cent as he continued to focus on his health and physique in recent years. In January 2024, he shared that “practicing abstinence” helped him stay dedicated and train harder than ever before.
9. Val Kilmer – “The Doors”
Not everyone enjoys working with method actors because it can, at times, seem over the top. In the case of Val Kilmer, portraying legendary musician Jim Morrison was only possible by diving straight into the mind of the legendary singer. Kilmer focused on the musician’s mannerisms, style of speech, and voice.
But one thing that the actor had to do was gain and lose weight because while Jim Morrison was lean during his early years of fame, towards the end of his life, he gained weight due to excessive drinking. And Kilmer needed to show the full spectrum of the late singer, especially since director Oliver Stone chose to film many scenes out of sequence.
10. Edward Norton – “American History X”
Ed Norton is known for his extreme roles and “American History X” was no exception. Norton plays a neo-Nazi skinhead that ends up in prison, where he is sexually assaulted, and he reforms his racist past and reclaims his life. The film is hard to watch at times, but watching Norton’s physical transformation is impressive.
He worked out excessively to lose fat and gain muscle for the part. According to Norton, he gained a whopping twenty-five pounds of pure muscle, which gave him a more menacing presence to really embody the character. His efforts paid off, and he was nominated for an Oscar for Best Actor. The film and his acting were praised by critics.
11. Christian Bale – “The Machinist”
“American Hustle” and “American Psycho” saw the transformation of Christian Bale in different ways. In the former, he shaved his head to look like he was balding and gained forty-three pounds. Which was quite different from the look of the actor when he played the lead in “American Psycho.” His role as a narcissist, money-obsessed lunatic required him to have the perfect body.
Despite his incredible transformations in these films, the most striking change was in the film “The Machinist.” Bale plays a man consumed by insomnia which causes the character to completely waste away. The actor lost sixty-three pounds by sticking to a strict diet of one can of tuna fish and one apple each day for four months. The grueling regime led him to the emaciated look that gives his character an intensity in this psychological thriller.
12. Ewan McGregor – “Fargo”
Scottish actor Ewan McGregor took on the role of two characters in the third season of the popular series “Fargo.” McGregor plays brothers each with key differences in appearance from weight to facial shape. The actor had to gain weight for the first few episodes to portray one heavy brother in the bathtub, but throughout the series, he was able to lose some of that to portray the other brother.
Throughout the series, each brother requires different makeup, prosthetics, contact lenses, and style of speech. But McGregor makes it look easy as his ability to ease between the two brothers is amazing. He won a Golden Globe for his impressive acting.
13. Rooney Mara – “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo”
Actress Rooney Mara went all out of her role in “The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo.” She bleached her eyebrows and pierced her ears and nose to get the extreme look of the character. The actress had never even had her ears pierced before, and the piercings changed her look and aided in her character transformation.
14. Tom Hardy – “Bronson”
British actor Tom Hardy took on a lot when he accepted the role of Bronson for the film of the same name. The character is based on a real-life criminal, Michael Peterson, who was nicknamed Charles Bronson. The story follows him through his violent life and time in prison. To accurately portray him, Hardy had to bulk up with muscle and fat.
The real Bronson is a large man with thick limbs. He was initially upset that Hardy was cast, but Hardy proved himself to be up for it when he was able to add weight and muscle to his body in just a few weeks. The film received positive reviews, but the extreme violence was a bit too much for some viewers.
15. Tom Hanks – “Cast Away”
Everybody’s favorite all-American actor, Tom Hanks has undergone several transformations during his long film career. But the most intense was for “Cast Away,” where he played a man stuck on an island for many years before he was finally rescued. The director had Hank gain fifty pounds for the first part of the film, and then they took a whole year off from production to give him time to lose the weight.
Hanks exercised and followed a diet of lots of vegetables, crab, fish, and very few carbs. His hard work can be seen in his performance, as he is a believable castaway.
16. Vincent D’Onofrio – “Full Metal Jacket”
The film “Full Metal Jacket” is an intense film directed by Stanley Kubrick about soldiers in training who are deployed to Vietnam during the war. It is disturbing and violent but executed perfectly. One of the key characters is played by Vincent D’Onofrio, who had to gain seventy pounds and shave his head to play the doomed, dimwitted character.
The actor said the experience changed him. His efforts make him one of the most memorable characters in a film about the Vietnam War.
17. Natalie Portman – “Black Swan”
Actress Natalie Portman didn’t just play the black swan; she became the black swan in the film of the same name. The story follows a ballerina who suffers from an overbearing mother and mental health issues and is cast in the dual role of white and black swan. The character is intense and aims for perfection in every aspect of her life. She is prone to hallucinations and eventually succumbs to them.
To play this dark role, Portman had to prepare herself mentally and physically. She trained intensely for eight months, practicing two hours a day, eventually increasing it to five hours per day. The excellent film is the perfect place to showcase Portman’s immense talent and dedication to her craft. Critics agreed, and the actress won both an Oscar and a Golden Globe for her role.
18. Adrien Brody – “The Pianist”
The film “The Pianist” follows the story of Holocaust survivor and pianist Wladyslaw Szpilman. The film stars Adrien Brody as Wladyslaw as he survives over and over again in Poland as the Nazis take over and force his family into the ghetto and then to the concentration camps. For most of the film, Brody is onscreen alone, so every movement and facial expression conveys his message.
To portray Wladyslaw, Brody had to lose a tremendous amount of weight. The actor, who is 6’1, starved himself down to 130 pounds to realistically play the Holocaust survivor. He told media outlets that the starvation was difficult, but he persisted because he wanted to respect Wladyslaw’s story.