Celebs' dramatic weight transformations for films – 5 stone loss to 4,000 calorie diet

It’s not unusual for Hollywood stars to change their look for a role, but when forced to completely slim down or pile on the pounds you’ve got to wonder, is it worth it?

From 4,000 calorie diets, to massive five stone weight losses and rigorous fitness regimes, the stars have opened up on the weight they have lost and gained for their films.

They have also spoken openly about the impact the transformations have had on their health too – and the difficulties they have faced.

READ MORE: James Corden strips off as he takes dip in sea after six stone weight loss

Here, Daily Star takes a closer look at some of the celebrities who have undergone major weight transformations for their film roles.

Anne Hathaway

Anne Hathaway won the Best Supporting Actor award at the Oscars for her performance as Fantine in 2012’s Les Miserables.

However, the star underwent a dramatic weight loss for the role, losing 25lbs in total (1 stone, 11lbs), including 10lb before filming and then 15lb during production.

Speaking to Daily Mail, Anne said the dramatic weight loss was to make her “look like I was near death in a film… but I went at it with a plan and I had a guide, a nutritionist kind of helped me with it”.

However, Anne has since spoke about how the weight loss negatively impacted her health.

She revealed to People Magazine that she was “really sick because of it”, saying: “I’d lost an unhealthy amount of weight in two weeks.

“I didn’t know anything about nutrition. I taxed my body, and my brain bore the brunt of it for a while.

“I just felt very anxious and lost at that time. That weight loss was not a long-term good thing for my health, and it took a really long time to come back from it.

“And I was still really sick because of it.”

Christian Bale

Christian Bale has been known to undergo dramatic weight changes for his roles, including in 2004 film The Machinist.

He played factory worker Trever Reznik, who convinces himself that his co-workers are out to get him, alongside a story following his character’s infatuations and obsessions.

However, Christian lost a huge amount of weight to play the role, totalling 63lbs (4 stone, 7lb).

Nearly a decade later in 2013, the Hollywood icon instead gained weight for his memorable role in American Hustle, where he played a con-man.

Christian gained 43lbs (3 stone, 11lb) for the film, but admitted to USA Today that losing the weight he had gained for roles in American Hustle and Vice has gotten more difficult as he gets older.

“I think I’m certainly getting older. I thought I was going to lose the weight I gained for American Hustle. I said, two months, flat, that’ll do it.

“I was 185 and I went up to 228 for it. And I’m still working that off! It’s almost six months later.

“Now I know that when I was in my early 20s, it would have been two months, and that’s it.”

Jared Leto

Jared Leto is another Hollywood star who is known to undergo major physical transformations for roles.

For the film Chapter 27, where Jared played Mark Chapman – the man who assasinated John Lennon – he gained 67lbs for the role (5 stone, 5lb).

However, the actor revealed that he suffered health problems as a result of the weight gain, including gout, high cholestorol and trouble walking.

“I had a definite problem with my feet,” Jared told Digital Spy.

“Towards the end of the shoot, one of the glaring issues was the pain I had with my feet. I couldn’t walk for long distances; I had a wheelchair because it was so painful. My body was in shock from the amount of weight I gained.

“It took about a year to get back to a place that felt semi-normal. I don’t know if I’ll ever be back to the place I was physically.”

Robert De Niro

One of Robert De Niro’s most famous roles is as boxer Jake LaMotta in Raging Bull, for which he won the Oscar for Best Actor.

To gain the muscle required for the role, Robert regularly ate out at restaurants during a four month break in filming, gaining a total of 60lbs (3 stone, 12lb) for one scene in the film.

The actor later admitted it was the “most difficult role” for him during an interview with The Independent, saying it was “because of [putting on] the weight and that”.

He added that after seeing the real Jake LaMotta on the street and noticing that he was “overweight and this and that”, he was inspired to take on the role.

“I thought the graphic difference of being out of shape and then being a young fighter really was interesting,” said Robert.

“I thought I’d like to see if I could gain that weight. So that was my interest and Marty had his reasons, and both of us just came together on the project.”

Hilary Swank

Another star to gain weight for a boxing role was Hilary Swank in Million Dollar Baby – a role that also landed her an Oscar for Best Actress.

Hilary gained 19lbs (1 stone, 5lb) of muscle by working out every day and eating a high protein diet.

Speaking about her rigorous diet and daily routine for the role, she told The Hollywood Reporter: “I had to eat 210 grams of protein a day. I had to eat 60 egg whites in a day, and I couldn’t. So every morning I would drink them.

“The thing was, I needed nine hours of sleep a night because your muscles have to be able to rest in order to build or you actually reverse yourself.

“So I slept nine hours a night but I had to wake up in the night and drink protein shakes because I couldn’t go that long without eating.”

Charlize Theron

Charlize Theron underwent a weight gain for her award winning turn as Aileen Wournos in Monster.

She won the Academy Award for Best Actress, but underwent a weight gain for the role, totaling 30lbs (2 stone, 2lbs), as well as a physical transformation that saw her wear prosthetic teeth and shave off her eyebrows.

The actress also gained 50lbs (4 stone, 4lbs) for her role in 2018’s Tully, explaining to Entertainment Tonight that she “just I wanted to feel what this woman felt, and I think that was a way for me to get closer to her and get into that mindset.”

She also opened up on the impact that the weight gain had on her personally, saying: “You know, it was a huge surprise to me. I got hit in the face pretty hard with depression.

“Yeah, for the first time in my life I was eating so much processed foods and I drank way too much sugar. I was not that fun to be around on this film.”

Joaquin Phoenix

Joaquin Phoenix won the Academy Award for Best Actor when he played Arthur Fleck in 2019 film Joker.

To play the Batman villain, the actor lost 52lbs (4 stone, 4 lbs) and has since explained that he sought medical advice in order to lose weight safely.

Following a strict diet, he told Access Hollywood: “It’s something I’ve done before and you work with a doctor regimented and overseen and safe.”

However, he did admit it was hard to resist temptation on set as Joker director Todd Phillips would often have bags of his favourite snack lying around.

“Todd did have these f**king pretzels that I love. And he’d just have bags of them in his office! And that was difficult.”

Tom Hanks

One of Tom Hanks’ most famous roles is as Chuck Noland in 2000 film Cast Away, where the actor underwent a dramatic transformation to play the operations executive stranded on a desert island.

Tom lost a total of 53lbs (4 stone, 5lbs) – but it was not the first time he had lost weight for a role.

In 1993, the award winning actor also lost 26lbs (1 stone, 12lbs) to play HIV/AIDS patient Andrew Beckett in Philadelphia, about a man who battles against the firm he worked for in a wrongful dismissal suit.

Chris Pratt

Chris Pratt hit worldwide fame when he took on the role of Peter Quill in Marvel’s Guardians Of The Galaxy, but had to gain a huge muscle mass to play the character.

He consumed 4,000 calories a day, but instead of putting on weight, he actually lost.

Chris lost 60lbs in total (4 stone, 12lbs) over six months, saying that one of the secrets to his weight loss was drinking plenty of water.

Sharing photographs of his transformation with his Instagram followers, the star also revealed: “I was inspired by my brother, who has shed a tonne of weight and is looking real good right now, he has motivated me.

“I am going to motivate you and we are going to get through this together, I’m sweating.”

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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk