Physical appearance is a fundamental factor in the world of film in order to represent a character effectively. For many years, there have been a wide range of actors that have pushed their bodies to the limit to make drastic changes in order to portray the role their character the best they possibly can.
A few names come to mind when we think of actors and actresses that have put their body through these physical changes in recent years, such as Anne Hathaway in 'Les Misérables', Matthew Fox in 'Alex Cross', Rooney Mara in 'The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo' or the likes of Michael Fassbender in 'Hunger'. However, we want to go one step further and acknowledge the actors who change constantly for their roles.
Health risks
The constant changes in physique of these actors has lead to the debate of whether it is really worth it for the success of a film. A number of the actors in question have had to go through treatment in order to recover after filming to get them back to a healthy state. Others have had less luck and have been part of sequels leading to them putting themselves through the process again in a short space of time. Is all the effort worth it?
To show you what we are on about, here are 8 actors and actresses who have experienced putting their body to the test for a whole range of different roles in the world of film.
1 Christian Bale
If we are talking about constant physical changes for roles, there is one name that stands out. That name belongs to the Welsh actor Christian Bale. The actors drastic physical changes are well known in the world of cinema, which have understandably lead to health problems over the years.
The biggest change for Bale would have to be for his part in 'The Machinist' where the actor lost just under 60 pounds. Within a couple of months, the actor put back on the weight and more in order to play Batman in Batman Begins by scoffing his face with pizza and ice cream. Another big change that Bale has put himself through was for his role in 'American Hustle'. He put on just over 40 pounds for the role of the 70s con artist. It is safe to say Christian Bale goes all out for his roles. What must his doctor think?
2 Jared Leto
Another great example of a man who is capable of changing his appearance to fit a role is Jared Leto. The talented singer and actor has shown throughout his career that he is not afraid of pushing his body to the limit to make big changes. For example, in 2007, Leto prepared for his role in the biopic 'Chapter 27' by putting on around 67 pounds.
For 'Dallas Buyers Club', the film which won the American an Oscar, Leto lost around 30 to 40 pounds. Finally, for 'Suicide Squad' the film in which the actor played the legendary Joker, Leto was forced to bulk up by eating more than normal and working out daily. The actor has revealed that in the process of preparing for these roles, he has struggled both mentally and physically and as a result has promised not to put himself through the strain for a role again.
3 Renée Zellweger
The woman who brought Bridget Jones to life, also known as Renée Zellweger, has gone through a handful of physical changes in her career. The Texas born actress has grown to be one of the most valued comedy actresses in the industry.
Arguably the actresses biggest change came when she decided to take on the role of the protagonist for the film 'Bridget Jones's Diary' in which she had to put on 30 pounds. In a flash the actress then had to transform herself for another role, this time as Roxie Hart in the 2002 film 'Chicago', where she slimmed down considerably in very little time. In 2016, for the first time, Zellweger did not have to gain weight for the role of our beloved Bridget Jones.
4 Matthew McConaughey
Matthew McConaughey over the years has formed a successful acting career with roles in a wide variety of films. In a number of the productions he has participated in, McConaughey has pushed his body to the limit to present his characters in a realistic way.
In 2012, the actor surprised us all with his transformation in the film Magic Mike'. However, an even bigger surprise transformation came for the film 'Dallas Buyers Club' where he lost around 50lbs to play the role of an HIV patient, which won him an Oscar. Nevertheless, he put the weight back on which we could easily see in 'Interstellar'. Finally, the actor also changed his physique as well as chopping off some of locks for the film 'Gold'.
5 Matt Damon
Matt Damon is known by everybody in the film industry. We know the actor best through his roles in films such as 'Good Will Hunting', for which he won an Oscar for Best Original Screenplay along with Ben Affleck. Furthermore, we have of course seen him in 'Bourne' saga and 'Saving Private Ryan'.
Throughout his career he has experimented with a number of physically demanding roles, which have forced the actor to change his image. The first example was in 1996, for the film 'Courage Under Fire', a young Damon had to lose a total of 50 pounds for the role. 2009 was the year where we saw more changes in the actors physique for his roles on the big screen. He put on 40 pounds for his part in 'The Informant!'. However, he lost all this weight and more by gaining a whole load of muscle so he could continue to play Jason Bourne in the 'Bourne Saga'.
6 Chris Pratt
American actor Chris Pratt is another example of an actor who has put his body to the test for a number of his roles. Many of us know of him through playing his part in the Marvel Cinematic Universe in films like 'Guardians of the Galaxy'.
The actor first had his physical change for his role in 'Zero Dark Thirty' but soon had to put weight back on to carry on working on the 'Parks and Recreation'. His biggest change came in 'Guardians of the Galaxy' where the actor buffed up which he has managed to maintain for future roles such as 'The Magnificent Seven'.
7 Hilary Swank
No one can deny the talent that Hilary Swank has when performing in front of the camera and the actress had a lot of success at the end of the 90s and the beginning of the new millennium. Throughout her career, the Nebraska born actress has not been afraid of changing her physique to fit in with certain roles.
One of her first changes came in the 1999 film 'Boys Don't Cry', a film where she plays a young transexual. For the role, Swank had to lose approximately 7% of her muscle mass. She was rewarded for this by winning the Oscar for the Best Actress. In 2004, she was forced to make another change. This time she showed her athletic side for the film 'Million Dollar Baby' where she had to endure a hard training programme in preparation for the role as Maggie Fitzgerald. After this, the actress changed again to fit for the role in the 2006 film 'The Black Dahlia'.
8 Tom Hardy
Londoner Tom Hardy has had a pretty busy schedule over the past few years with roles in successful productions such as 'Legend', 'The Revenant' and 'Mad Max: Fury Road'. Hardy's physical changes on both the small and big screen are evident, as we have seen the actor has not had problems changing his physique to fit the roles he has been given.
For example, in 2008, Hardy played the criminal in 'Bronson' and had to gain around 40 pounds in weight to make the character as realistic as possible. In 2012, he took on the role of the famous villain, Bane, in 'The Dark Knight Rises' where he gained a fair bit of muscle to fit the role perfectly. Finally, the actor has continued to maintain his buff figure for future productions, which we can see more recently in the BBC series 'Taboo'.