25 Celebs Who Went Through Extreme Transformations For Their Roles

In order to portray their characters as realistically as possible, celebrities often commit to rigorous exercises and extreme diet before filming. Instead of relying on makeup and CG effects, they would bulk up or slim down as necessary. Frankly, most of them admit that they weren’t pleasant experiences to remember but show just how professional they are.

Many of them even admitted that going through those diets made them feel like they were dying. Obviously, we do not advise anyone to follow in their footsteps. They have nutritionists, trainers, and doctors that pay close attention to their health before, throughout, and after the filming process.

Matt Damon in ‘Courage Under Fire’ (1996).

‘Courage Under Fire’ is a movie where he had to play a drug-addicted veteran and for the role, he lost around 60 lbs, as revealed on Reddit. Damon wrote, “All I ate was chicken breast. It’s not like I had a chef or anything, I just made it up and did what I thought I had to do.

Renee Zellweger in ‘Bridget Jones: Edge Of Reason.’

She ate burgers, gained weight, and stopped exercising. She finally reached size 14 for the role that earned her an Oscar nomination. Even so, it wasn’t enough! One staff revealed, “In one scene, they had to pad out her bottom because it wasn’t large enough.”

Tom Hanks in ‘Castaway.’

For ‘Castaway,’ Tom Hanks gained around 50 lbs more for the first-half of the filming. Then they paused the filming until Tom lost enough weight to portray a real castaway. He didn’t even shave and grew pudgy to make his character’s appearance more realistic.

Michael Fassbender in ‘Hunger.’

Michael Fassbender was determined in portraying the role of prisoner Bobby Sands. He died from 66 days of starvation for leading the Provisional Irish Republican Army hunger strike in 1981. For the role, Fassbender went on a strict diet combined with exercise and lost 42 pounds. He hit 127 pounds.

J.K. Simmons in ‘Justice League.’

What did you think of Commissioner Gordon’s bulked-up look played by J.K. Simmons in ‘Justice League’? The man had actually put himself through strenuous training with trainer Aaron Williamson. This is the same man that trained with Zac Efron and Dwayne Johnson. Now, he’s hooked up to getting in shape and wants to “adopt a healthy lifestyle.”

Jared Leto ‘Dallas Buyers Club,’ after ‘Chapter 27.’

He had to burn over 50 pounds to portray Rayon, a transexxual character with AIDS, and act alongside Matthew McConaughey. This is after he gained weight to be the mentally ill killer in ‘Chapter 27.’

Hilary Swank in ‘Million Dollar Baby.’

She played the boxer Maggie and to have the right physique; she had to put on weight within 90 days. She was 129 pounds from 110 pounds, lifted weights, and consumed many egg whites every day.

Matthew McConaughey in ‘Dallas Buyers Club.’

In the movie, he played the role of a man with AIDS, Ron Woodroof. To embody the real person, he lost over 40 lbs of weight. It was physically challenging for his body, but he found the energy to do his job right for the role.

Charlize Theron in ‘Monster.’

There are people who didn’t realize it was Charlize Theron that acted the serial killer, Aileen Wuornos. She put more than 30 lbs in weight for the role and ate a lot of donuts and potato chips. Theron explained that gaining weight wasn’t her actual purpose; she just wanted to be more in character as Wuornos.

Chris Hemsworth alternating between ‘Avengers’ and ‘In The Heart Of The Sea.’

From a hero to a starved shipmate. Chris Hemsworth was already slimmed down from acting in ‘Black Hat.’ For ‘In The Heart Of The Sea,’ he had to prep to play the role of Owen Chase, who had to survive through harsh conditions with the crews.

Chris Pratt in ‘Parks and Recreation’ and ‘Guardians Of The Galaxy.’

He was Andy Dwyer in a sitcom and before filming for ‘Guardians of the Galaxy,’ Chris had to train insanely to gain a muscled body. He had a trainer, a nutritionist, and lost 60 pounds in half a year.

Jonah Hill for ‘Maniac.’

Still remember when Jonah Hill appeared in his lean body a few years ago for ’22 Jump Street’? Jonah continued to gain and lose weight per movie roles’ request. But he now prefers to stay fit and slim compared to his past roles like in ‘War Dogs’ as the arms dealer Efraim Diveroli.

Christian Bale in ‘The Machinist’ (2014).

Christian Bale cut down around 63 pounds within 4 months before filming ‘The Machinist’ to 110 pounds. The doctors had to stop him as they fear he was going to die from the diet, which consisted of only one can of tuna and an apple a day.

Natalie Portman in ‘Black Swan’ (2010).

In the ‘Black Swan,’ Natalie Portman portrayed a ballerina and lost 20 lbs for the role. The Oscar-winning role was the result of her rehearsing 5-8 hours a day to be the perfectionist dancer she was in the movie. Quoting Natalie, “Part of the art is hiding all the pain.”

Mila Kunis in ‘Black Swan’ (2010).

Alongside Oscar-winning actress Natalie Portman, Mila Kunis was also subjected to a similar regime of diet and practice. She lost 20 pounds for her ballerina role.

George Clooney in ‘Syriana.’

As CIA operative agent Robert Barnes, Clooney had to gain weight to look bulky. He added 35 lbs to his weight and accidentally hurt his back due to the weight gain while filming. “There was not a moment that was fun about shooting this film. That’s not a slap on the film or the director (Stephen Gaghan); it’s just that everybody has that year where you age a decade, and this was that one for me,” said the man.

Vincent D’Onofrio in ‘Full Metal Jacket.’

To portray the role of overweighed, mentally disturbed, Marine recruit Leonard, Vincent D`Onofrio dedicated himself to gain the necessary weight. He added a total of 70 pounds for the role and recalled how it changed his life. “People used to say things to me twice, because they thought I was stupid,” said the actor.

Matthew Fox in ‘Alex Cross.’

Matthew Fox treads the ‘healthy’ route to earn the body he sees would portray perfectly in ‘Alex Cross.’ He trained with Daniel Craig’s trainer for Bond’s movies. The results were insane, but he got it healthily without depriving himself of daily nutrition!

Rapper 50 Cent in ‘Things Fall Apart.’

50 Cent was asked to play the role of a footballer whose career ended with cancer in a movie by Mario Van Peebles. He stuck to a liquid only diet and was legit “starving.”

Anne Hathaway in ‘Les Miserables.’

Anne already had a slim figure, but for her role, she cut down 25 pounds on her weight along with her brunette hair. Her special diet was part of her obsession as Fantine. But looking back, Anne said that it was “definitely a little nuts.”

Russell Crowe in ‘Body of Lies’ (2008).

He added 63 more pounds to his weight so he can portray the role of a CIA agent that let himself go. He stopped being active and stuffed himself with many things, including burgers.

Tom Hardy in ‘Bronson.’

Tom admitted that he didn’t stick to a strict schedule or regime. He did train with an ex-marine to gain the body that fit his role as Charles Bronson. He decided to feast on ice-cream and soda. Eventually, Charles Bronson himself was impressed with his figure.

Jake Gyllenhaal in ‘Nightcrawler.’

He had to lose 30 pounds for his paparazzi role, Lou Bloom, ‘Nightcrawler’ and then worked hard to gain them back for ‘Southpaw’ where he acts as a boxer six months later.

Demi Moore in ‘G.I. Jane.’

When Demi Moore took the role as Navy SEAL Lieutenant Jordan O’Neil, she submitted herself to an actual harsh workout schedule with Navy SEAL instructor Stephen Helvenston. Demi, who lived in NYC during the time of filming would start working out from as early as 4 am to finish the filming in time.

Bradley Cooper in ‘American Sniper.’

Bradley Cooper earned the role as a Navy SEAL member, Chris Kyle, in ‘American Sniper.’ To get that buff looks, he hit the gym regularly and gained 40 pounds of muscle weight.