Beefing Up: 10 Actors Who Underwent Remarkable Physical Transformations For Their Roles

When an actor completely immerses themselves into a role, the result is usually stunning. Sometimes though, what's more impressive is the work that went in before filming even began. Changing appearance for roles has become quite common in movies today, but occasionally, an actor's physical transformation goes far beyond a bit of make-up or a haircut, like Christian Bale in, well, most of his films.

Alexander Lowe

Published: Jul 19, 2012 11:51 pm

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Russell Crowe For Body Of Lies

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In Body Of Lies, Russell Crowe was a far, far cry from his toned Gladiator body, packing on 63 pounds to play a CIA agent who is well past his physical prime. The actor went up to 257 pounds to portray the image of a character that rarely did anything more active than sitting down. Crowe himself got to the point where he had trouble getting out of his car due to the weight gain.

With a diet that consisted of lots of cupcakes and cheeseburgers for breakfast, Crowe actually enjoyed his transformation, though his body wasn’t as supportive, considering his cholesterol levels were dangerously high. Luckily for him, and for moviegoers, Crowe was able to shed the weight and not have any major lasting damage. However, he did have trouble losing the bulk, with it taking him nearly two years to get back down to his previous weight.

Two years for one role? I’d call that dedication.

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Author

Alexander Lowe