Another Top 10 Actor Body Transformations
Special thanks to our users Jason Scorch, Erin Hein, & Deathmatch1959for suggesting this idea! WatchMojo.comsuggest/Top%2010%20More%20Actor%20Body%20Transformations
Another Top 10 Actor Body Transformations
Top 10 Actor Body Transformations
Looking the part goes way beyond costume and makeup! Welcome to WatchMojo.com, and today we’re counting down our picks for Another Top 10 Actor Body Transformations. For this list, we’re looking at actors who either lost or gained serious amounts of weight and/or muscle for a movie role. If you think there’s someone missing,, be sure to check out our original list on the topic. Also, all viewers should note: the actors who went through this for the most part had professional help from coaches and nutritionists. For the ones that didn’t, we can’t endorse that type of unhealthy weight loss or gain.
#10: Bradley Cooper
Interview with Doug Bradley a.k.a Hellraiser's Pinhead
“American Sniper” (2014) Before the tragic death of the real life Navy SEAL, Chris Kyle stated that he might need to drag Cooper behind his truck to “knock some of the pretty off” of him. Luckily for Bradley Cooper, that didn’t wind up happening, but he did go through a pretty rigorous training program for the film. Working out twice a day while eating six thousand calories day in and day out, Cooper put on nearly forty pounds of muscle, without dropping in body fat percentage. This, coupled with his sniper training, and the practice he put in to mimic Kyle’s accent, enabled Cooper to respectfully and accurately bring Kyle to life on the big screen.
#9: Anne Hathaway
Michelle Pfeiffer VS Zoë Kravitz VS Anne Hathaway as Catwoman
“Les Misérables” (2012) Anne Hathaway was never by any means overweight, but when it came time to play Fantine in Les Misérables – a prostitute dying of tuberculosis – Hathaway shocked many with her sudden change in appearance. To get into her character, not only did Anne Hathaway cut off her hair, but she also lost twenty-five pounds to play the role. She has stated that her dedication to the role came from knowing that sexual slavery is very much alive and well in our world today, and it was important to give a voice to people like Fantine.
#8: Matthew Fox
Top 10 Matthew McConaughey Performances
“Alex Cross” (2012) Matthew Fox slipped into the role of the serial killer only known as Picasso for this reboot of the Alex Cross franchise. In order to attain the physique of a psychopathic ex-special forces operator turned assassin, Fox first lost forty pounds, contributing to his almost no-fat look. To do this, Fox enlisted the help of the same trainer who worked with Daniel Craig on the Bond films, and Chris Evans for his role in Captain America. Was the transformation worth it? Well, we wouldn’t want to mess with him.
#7: Renée Zellweger
“Bridget Jones’s Diary” (2001) Renee Zellweger’s commitment to the role of the lovable and quirky Bridget Jones earned her an Oscar nomination, and we can see why! In the book, Jones is described as having some unhealthy habits and a bit of a weight problem. In addition to adopting a posh British accent, and apparently working in a publishing agency for a couple of weeks, Zellweger also gained over 20 pounds to play the role. The transformation was beyond effective, and allowed Zellweger to become the beloved every-woman hero that the character is recognized as.
#6: Chris Hemsworth
Chris Pine Vs Chris Evans Vs Chris Hemsworth: Actor Showdown
“Rush” (2013) & “Thor: The Dark World” (2013) The Asgardian god of thunder made waves when he appeared shirtless in the first Thor movie, and was able to maintain that cut yet jacked aesthetic through “The Avengers”. But in between the Avengers and the Thor sequel, Chris Hemsworth signed on to play James Hunt, a legendary Formula 1 driver with a penchant for alcohol, drugs and women. To play the ‘70s racing fiend, Hemsworth lost 30 pounds, bringing his weight to around 185. To film Thor: the Dark World, he then had to come back up to 215 pounds. Now that’s an impressive turnaround.
#5: Jake Gyllenhaal
Top 10 Movie Moments That Made Us Love Jake Gyllenhaal
“Nightcrawler” (2014) & “Southpaw” (2015) In order to play the wiry, manipulative and unstable man who develops an obsession with finding disturbing news footage at all hours of the night in “Nightcrawler”, Jake Gyllenhaal lost a whopping thirty pounds. His next role was very different, and required him to portray a nearly unbreakable boxing champion. In order to do this, Gyllenhaal said that he trained as a real boxer would to put the muscle on. In the end, his dedication and hard work paid off as he looked every bit as jacked as a boxer should.
#4: Natalie Portman
“Black Swan” (2010) Before she could play the ballerina attempting to capture the black swan, this actress had to accurately portray a ballerina. To do this, Portman took on an extreme diet, mostly eating carrots and almonds on top of her exercise to lose twenty pounds. Although some dancers described this portrayal as over the top, according to director Darren Aronofsky, plenty of others have praised the frank portrayal of the subject matter. While Mila Kunis did follow a similar extreme weight loss journey, it’s Portman’s performance that is truly mesmerizing.
#3: Chris Pratt
Top 10 Chris Pratt Moments
“Zero Dark Thirty” (2012) & “Guardians of the Galaxy” (2014) In his Parks and Rec days, Chris Pratt made a name for himself being the lovable doughy goofball Andy Dwyer. He slimmed down a bit for Moneyball, and then Kathryn Bigelow decided to cast him as a Navy SEAL in Zero Dark Thirty. He trained hard to accurately portray the character, and shortly after the film’s release, he was cast as Star-Lord in Guardians of the Galaxy, where he trained to go from Special forces bod to Superhero bod. His weight loss was so apparent that a joke referencing it had to be inserted into the Parks and Recreation season six premiere.
#2: Tom Hardy
Tom Hardy Bio: From Star Trek to the Dark Knight Rises
“Bronson” (2008) Ask a fan of the English actor, and they’ll probably tell you that Tom Hardy is capable of tackling pretty much any role - and they’re probably right! The dude’s got talent. When he packed on the muscles to play Bronson though, he really dove into the role and came out looking huge on screen. Training wasn’t like your typical training though. In online interviews, Hardy noted that on top of building dense muscle, he also had to add a layer of fat to capture the look of Bronson when he was a younger man. This involved eating chicken and rice throughout the day, followed by pizza, ice cream and sugary soft drinks.
#1: Matthew McConaughey
Top 10 Matthew McConaughey Performances (REDUX)
“Dallas Buyers Club” (2013) Apparently, the best way to win an Oscar is to put your body through absolute hell. It’s been proven before on this list, but Matthew McConaughey stands to this day as the prime example of transforming for gold. To play the role of a man stricken with AIDS, McConaughey shed his typically muscular physique, a feat he attributed to cardio and intense dieting - the final result being his loss of 38 pounds before the film began shooting. Speaking to E! News, the Academy Award winner said that the one thing he couldn’t wait to eat after film wrapped was a po’ boy.
