Luke
stu-kicks
CibbuanoWeight Loss in Films
September 18th 2006 03:11
Last week I did a blog on actors packing on the pounds to gain credibility, so I thought I would continue the theme with this blog on actors who have lost weight for roles. Usually it's for pretty much it's for the same reason as those who've gained weight... it helps get them recognition, shows their dedication to their craft, etc, etc. Some of these guys have even lost weight for roles that only amount to a few minutes of screentime in a desperate bid for attention. Often, they dice with severe medical trauma due to the speed at which they shed weight - and probably also due to the fact that many of these actors aren't really all that heavy to begin with.
Unlike last week, there aren't any women featured here. I just couldn't think of any... most Hollywood starlets are already painfully thin to begin with, and any added weight loss is hardly impressive to film critics and the like when so many actresses are already saddled with eating disorders and inappropriate media attention in regards to their weight.
So far, Christian Bale holds the 'Raging Bull' title for weight loss in film. No other actor has managed to look so emaciated before. Bale lost nearly 30 kilograms from his already fairly trim frame to achieve a look that can only be described as skeletal. The film, 'The Machinist', also happens to be a pretty good film... if you can stomach watching Bale in his weightless state.
One of the most effective transformations of physique to ever be put on the screen would have to be Tom Hanks' amazing loss of 23 kilos in 'Cast Away'. In the first half of the film Hanks is a little heavier than he usually appears now, appropriately matching the character of a middle-age civil servant. To show the passing of three or four years he shed all the fat and toned up to represent a man reduced to living on his wits and the slim resources of a remote island. Hanks gained an Oscar nomination for his troubles.
Adrien Brody took his once-in-a-lifetime chance in Roman Polanski's 'The Pianist' and poured all the method madness he could fathom into his role as a Holocaust-dodging survivor in Nazi-Poland. No fatty to start with, Brody lost 14 kilograms to achieve an authentic portrayal of isolation and starvation. Suffice to say, he won the Oscar that year.
Tobey Maguire lost 16 kilos to play a jockey in the horse-racing biopic 'Seabiscuit'. He already had the height sorted.
James Gandolfini lost 20 kilos from his portly frame to play a gay mercenary in 'The Mexican' between seasons of 'The Sopranos'. It probably wasn't really all that necessary for the role but Gandolfini is a big guy and probably just wanted to lose the weight. He was reportedly annoyed when he was asked to put the weight back on for 'The Sopranos' when he finished work on the film.
Philip Seymour Hoffman recently won the Oscar (and 20 other awards) for his portrayal of Truman Capote. Whilst he might not have the height required for the role (or lack thereof - Capote was quite short), he had a good stab at shedding some weight to appear more like him. Hoffman lost about 19 kilos.
Daniel Day-Lewis might not act often, but when he does he makes sure he makes an impression. For his most recent role, in the film 'The Ballad of Jack and Rose' (pictured above), he lost 7 kilograms to play the terminally ill Jack. Previously, for his Oscar-nominated role in 'In The Name of the Father', he lost 13 kilos to play gaol-bound Gerry Conlon.
Some other actors who played the weighting game...
- Matt Damon, in his pre-mega fame years, lost a dangerous 19 kilograms from an already slight frame to play a junkie in 'Courage Under Fire'. He risked heart shrinkage and was on medication for years afterwards to correct the damage done to his body, and all for a scene that required only 2 days of shooting!
- Donnie Wahlberg, starving for recognition as an actor, also lost around 20 kilograms for a single-scene - the opening sequence of the film 'The Sixth Sense'. He did a good job... it was certainly disturbing, but I haven't really seen him in much of note since.
- Marlon Brando frequently had to lose weight for roles, but this was due to his offscreen struggles with weight gain rather than any particular requirements for certain films. Brando apparently offered to lose weight to play the younger version of Don Corleone in 'The Godfather' but was turned down. As early as 1960 he was reportedly struggling to keep the weight off, and he was rather chubby as an adolescent.
Unlike last week, there aren't any women featured here. I just couldn't think of any... most Hollywood starlets are already painfully thin to begin with, and any added weight loss is hardly impressive to film critics and the like when so many actresses are already saddled with eating disorders and inappropriate media attention in regards to their weight.
So far, Christian Bale holds the 'Raging Bull' title for weight loss in film. No other actor has managed to look so emaciated before. Bale lost nearly 30 kilograms from his already fairly trim frame to achieve a look that can only be described as skeletal. The film, 'The Machinist', also happens to be a pretty good film... if you can stomach watching Bale in his weightless state.
Adrien Brody took his once-in-a-lifetime chance in Roman Polanski's 'The Pianist' and poured all the method madness he could fathom into his role as a Holocaust-dodging survivor in Nazi-Poland. No fatty to start with, Brody lost 14 kilograms to achieve an authentic portrayal of isolation and starvation. Suffice to say, he won the Oscar that year.
Tobey Maguire lost 16 kilos to play a jockey in the horse-racing biopic 'Seabiscuit'. He already had the height sorted.
James Gandolfini lost 20 kilos from his portly frame to play a gay mercenary in 'The Mexican' between seasons of 'The Sopranos'. It probably wasn't really all that necessary for the role but Gandolfini is a big guy and probably just wanted to lose the weight. He was reportedly annoyed when he was asked to put the weight back on for 'The Sopranos' when he finished work on the film.
Philip Seymour Hoffman recently won the Oscar (and 20 other awards) for his portrayal of Truman Capote. Whilst he might not have the height required for the role (or lack thereof - Capote was quite short), he had a good stab at shedding some weight to appear more like him. Hoffman lost about 19 kilos.
Daniel Day-Lewis might not act often, but when he does he makes sure he makes an impression. For his most recent role, in the film 'The Ballad of Jack and Rose' (pictured above), he lost 7 kilograms to play the terminally ill Jack. Previously, for his Oscar-nominated role in 'In The Name of the Father', he lost 13 kilos to play gaol-bound Gerry Conlon.
Some other actors who played the weighting game...
- Matt Damon, in his pre-mega fame years, lost a dangerous 19 kilograms from an already slight frame to play a junkie in 'Courage Under Fire'. He risked heart shrinkage and was on medication for years afterwards to correct the damage done to his body, and all for a scene that required only 2 days of shooting!
- Donnie Wahlberg, starving for recognition as an actor, also lost around 20 kilograms for a single-scene - the opening sequence of the film 'The Sixth Sense'. He did a good job... it was certainly disturbing, but I haven't really seen him in much of note since.
- Marlon Brando frequently had to lose weight for roles, but this was due to his offscreen struggles with weight gain rather than any particular requirements for certain films. Brando apparently offered to lose weight to play the younger version of Don Corleone in 'The Godfather' but was turned down. As early as 1960 he was reportedly struggling to keep the weight off, and he was rather chubby as an adolescent.
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Comment by JohnDoe
Film & TV on DVD
I will always rememeber seeing a tubby Ricky Lake in John Waters Cry Baby. When I saw her years with the weight off, I didnt even belive it was the same person.
Comment by Luke
Old Movies
Cane Toad Warrior
Comment by JohnDoe
Film & TV on DVD
Comment by Tracy
Movies and Life
But it's not all dodgy, World Movies is excellent and thoroughly worth the money.
Now that I've justified how I know that Ricki Lake is still on telly, I'll leave it at that.