It’s the ultimate parlor trick for an actor – gain or lose weight for an important role.
It gives you instant street cred, ups your chances for an Oscar and usually yields oodles of extra publicity.
But not all weight fluctuating roles are created equal. Here’s WWTW’s choices for the best “weighty” performances.
- Christian Bale, “The Machinist” - Anyone can pack on a few pounds for a role, but Bale went one step further. He lost weight. A lot. The result? A walking cadaver that made “The Machinist” a frightening spectacle.
- Robert De Niro, “Raging Bull” – The gold standard, and one that would top the list if it weren’t for Bale’s skeletal makeover.
- Dennis Quaid, “Wyatt Earp” – Quaid didn’t go the Full Bale, but his weight loss made his take on Doc Holliday a memorable one.
- Charlize Theron, “Monster” – Theron earned her Oscar the hard way … by completely submerging her eye-popping beauty by shaving her eyebrows and gaining weight. All the cosmetic changes set the stage for her best performance of a still young career.
- Tom Hanks, “Cast Away” – The Oscar winner took time off during the shoot to change his weight to fit the character … and the fantastical story. We already knew Hanks was a great actor, but “Cast Away” showed he could carry a movie all by himself.
(Photo: Christian Bale looks positively gaunt, and it’s no special effect, in “The Machinist.”)
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{ 7 comments… read them below or add one }
Which brings up a point. These actors are going all out to make the role more realistic, presumably because that enhances the movie for the audience and wins kudos from their peers.
So why, then, are stories today so lacking in reality? The science behind a particular setting is more often than not ignored or replaced by pseudo or bad science, because doing so is supposed to make the visuals more exciting or appealing. History is often changed as well for the same reasons or to fit someone’s agenda.
If the same philosophy were applied to actors, they’d have to be altered into steroid monsters or silicone versions of Jane Mansfield.
Really strong point. In so many ways, today’s films are more realistic than ever before. Yet … in the ways that count … they’re all but science fiction (when they aren’t meant to be). One wishes old school Hollywood’s best assets could be fused with some of the advances of the modern movie.
I always think of DeNiro (again!) in “The Untouchables” and “Cape Fear” also. He was pretty trim in “Heat” too. I guess he likes to change his physicality up a lot, at least he used to.
I appreciate when an actor goes the extra step to prepare for the role. This is a good list, but I don’t like when the physical changes by the actor are used as a marketing gimmick for the film. Not that any of the above films did that, I just mean generally.
For me it distracts from the performance if I know too much about how the actor went through their physical transformation.
And, as a journalist, it’s hard not to ask the actor about the weight change. I asked Bale about it during our chat for “The Machinist” – his appearance was so frightening, I found it hard to avoid the subject.
But it’s like watching how they make the monsters on a horror movie DVD … it does take some of the intrigue away.
How about Vincent D’Onofrio’s weight gain for “Full Metal Jacket”?
I have to admit I see it as taking the whole role immersion thing too far. Regardless of how “healthily” the actor/actress loses or gains weight it still plays havoc with the entire body, changing it in some ways that can’t be repaired.
Would they become an alcoholic for a role,beat their wife so they could play the role of a wife beater, break an arm because the character has one?
I see actors do these things and it actually takes away from the experience for me because instead of enjoying the part I’m thinking about how they lost or gained weight instead.