10 Actors Who Had to Starve for a Role

The heroes of our today’s selection have seen from their own experience that art requires sacrifice. In order to fully get used to the role and embody the desired image on the screen, they went on a strict diet and lost weight in a short time.

Hollywood stars receiving multimillion-dollar fees, in the truest sense of the word, were starving, causing enthusiastic surprise to the public.

10 Matthew McConaughey, Dallas Buyers Club

In the drama Dallas Buyers Club, McConaughey had a very difficult role: he had to credibly play a man with AIDS in the 80s who is trying not to give up.

This required from the actor not only talented dramaturgy, but also external reincarnation, so he lost 21 kg especially for filming.

Considering that he was never full and was always thin, such a sharp weight loss was very striking. However, his efforts were not in vain: for this role he received an Oscar.

9. Chris Hemsworth, “In the Heart of the Sea”

After Chris Hemsworth took off his T-shirt in the first Thor and showed off his beefy torso, he began to be perceived solely as a muscular God of Thunder.

Deciding to take a break from superheroics and move away from a fixed role, in 2015 Hemsworth accepted an offer to star in the film In the Heart of the Sea, which tells about people who survived a shipwreck.

He was supposed to play the role of a man exhausted by hunger, so his muscles only interfered with him. He had to go on a diet and consume only 500 calories a day, but he was able to quickly lose 9 kg, which he then regained for The Avengers.

8. Curtis Jackson, “Different Things”

Rapper 50 Cent, and in the world of Curtis Jackson, began acting in films a long time ago and continues to do so successfully now. Usually he played tough guys, since his well-developed muscles and the ability to look formidable made it easy to do this, but he clearly wanted more from his acting career.

In 2011, he decided to star in the film All Things Fall Apart, where he was offered the role of a football player dying of cancer. To look authentic, he lost 9 kg in 22 weeks, which is worthy of respect.

He said that in difficult times, when he wanted to quit everything and not torment himself, he reviewed interviews of other actors who lost weight for the role, and this gave him motivation.

7. Jonah Hill, “Maniac”

Jonah Hill has been a typical “puffy” for most of his career, acting mostly in comedic images. Nevertheless, in 2011, for the sake of his girlfriend, he lost about 10 kg, but gradually he “ate” them again.

In 2017, when it became known about his participation in the filming of the TV series “Maniac” with Emma Stone, the first photos of the built actor began to appear in the media, who has now lost more than 20 kg and does not stop there.

Judging by the changes, he wants to completely disown the role of a comedian and focus on serious dramatic work.

6. Hugh Jackman, Les Misérables

In the film adaptation of Victor Hugo’s novel of the same name, Hugh Jackman played the role of a convict who has gained freedom and is trying to start a new life in France at the beginning of the XNUMXth century.

For this, his appearance from X-Men, where he was a muscular mutant, did not fit, so the actor lost 15 kg, limiting himself in everything in terms of food.

It is noteworthy that already next year he was to star in the solo album “Wolverine: Immortal”, for which he again “pumped up”.

5. Anne Hathaway, Les Misérables

Anne Hathaway was Jackman’s co-star on the set of the drama Les Misérables and she also had to change her figure significantly.

Slender by nature, the actress brought herself almost to anorexia, additionally dropping 10 kg.

Given the initially low weight, her changes were most noticeable in the frame. By the way, she was the only one from the entire ensemble of actors who received an Oscar for this film.

4. Chris Pratt, Guardians of the Galaxy

In the series Parks and Recreation and the comedy Father Good, Chris Pratt showed quite chubby cheeks and a round belly, so his appointment to the role of team leader in Guardians of the Galaxy caused fans to be surprised.

Who would have thought that the actor would quickly be able to get in shape and become, if not a “jock”, then quite a “figurative” man with a noticeable press. In total, he lost 27 kg and has not gained weight since.

3. Adam Driver, “Silence”

Martin Scorsese’s drama “Silence” became one of the main premieres of 2017, as well as a real challenge for Adam Driver.

The cult director demanded that he lose a lot of weight, although the actor never suffered from overweight. It is very difficult to refuse the opportunity to work with Scorsese, so Adam gritted his teeth and began to devote a lot of time to cardio, little to food. As a result, he lost 16 kg, due to which he looked intimidating in some places.

2. Jake Gyllenhaal, Stringer

The role of an obsessive crime journalist who is ready to do anything for a good video story is considered the pinnacle of Gyllenhaal’s acting skills, at least so far.

When he was told that he would have to lose weight, he took it calmly and achieved results without much difficulty.

“I knew that my hero would be literally and figuratively hungry,” Jake told reporters. “I quickly went into a mode where I wanted to eat very little. I lost a little over 9 kilos.”

1. Christian Bale, “Machinist”

Arriving at the audition for the drama “The Machinist”, the actor weighed 83 kg with a height of 183 cm, being a completely athletic man. It is not known how he was able to convince the director that he could lose weight so much, but he was approved for the role.

For 4 months, he became 28 kg lighter and looked just creepy. The footage from the film instantly spread around the world and became so famous that even those who did not watch The Machinist know that Christian Bale did something incredible with his weight.

Recently, the actor announced that he would no longer engage in body transformations, because due to age it is becoming more and more difficult for him, and he began to fear for his health.