20 Actors Made Dramatic Physical Changes For Their Roles: Did It Ruin Or Make Their Life?

Being an actor is never easy! This job not only needs grueling skills but also high dedication. For that, a huge number of actors even sacrifice their appearance for their roles.Some actors opt to go on an extreme diet for a role-proper weight loss. Some even sacrifice their figure for extreme weight gain. In some cases, certain actors are swamped with the gym for 6 hours per day to live with an excruciating muscle gain regime. They take their body transformations to the extreme with an aim to convince their character.
It’s brutal, to say the least. The constant physique changes of these actors have sparked debate about whether it is truly worth it for a film's success. Some actors take treatment to recover from filming. Others unfortunately have been a part of sequels, forcing them to go through the process again in a short period of time.
Be that as it may, some actors really enjoy the change in their appearance. In this post, we point out 10 makeovers that made actors' lives miserable (labeled "BRUTAL"), and 10 they actually enjoyed (labeled "BELOVED").

BRUTAL: Christian Bale is well-known for transforming himself for roles — especially for his role in The Machinist.

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We are obsessed with Trevor Reznik’s character by Christian Bale in The Machinist. The actor has to lose over 60 pounds to tap into this character. He was on diet for months before production. He only consumed an apple, water, coffee, and the occasional swig of whiskey every day. Besides, he smoked a lot to accelerate weight loss. He claimed that the days of dramatic transformations are likely over due to their toll on his health.

Source: Paramount Classics/ Courtesy: Everett Collection

It’s not the only time Bale has created a character with a physical tweak. In American Hustle, he gained 40 pounds to play Irving Rosenfeld. He also lost 70 pounds for his role as racing car driver Ken Miles in the sports drama Ford v Ferrari.

BELOVED: Natalie Portman shaved her head for her role in “V For Vendetta”.

Source: Warner Brothers / courtesy Everett Collection

Natalie Portman earns raves for tackling some diverse roles in Hollywood. She’s also so dedicated that she even sacrifices her beauty for her roles sometimes. Her fans will never forget her buzz cut in V for Vendetta. The actor truly did shave her head and didn't even care how she look. She just focused on discussing the depth of her film and the way to deliver her character.

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She shared about her cutting hair: "It was actually kind of wonderful to throw vanity away for a little bit like a woman. You know, you're always expected to be primping and preening yourself. It's a pretty nice opportunity to get to not think about that stuff for a little."

BRUTAL: Hugh Jackman lost a ton of weight for Les Misérables.

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To play the embattled Jean Valjean in "Les Miserables”, Hugh Jackman was definitely “miserable” when he forced himself as emaciated as possible. He hasn't eaten anything in 36 hours, and also hasn't drunk anything, not even water. Besides, he spent three hours in the gym to get as thin as possible, yet still keep some muscle on for his character.

Source: Universal Pictures

“You lose up to 10 pounds of water weight, mainly from the exterior of the body. But it was really brutal," he said. "About 20 hours in, a headache came. Then I wanted to drink water out of the ocean! I see the scene now, and I look really thin, really sunken.”

BELOVED: KJ APA had a gnarly experience when dying his normally brunette locks red for his role as Archie Andrews in Riverdale.

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You may love KJ APA with a lovable redhead in Riverdale. Yet his original hair is dark-brown. In order to play Archie Andrews, the actor had to dye his normally brunette locks red. The process took eight hours in a salon and must be repeated every two weeks.

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For him, it was a gnarly experience, adding that he doesn't know how women do it. He also expressed concern about how he would appear with red hair and brows. But at the end of the day, Apa really loved his look. He said "It was definitely really weird to see. But now I can't really remember what it was like before. I heard that only 2% of the population of the world has red hair, so I'm feeling pretty good right now.”

BRUTAL: Miley Cyrus did not enjoy dressing up in glitter and a blonde wig for Hannah Montana.

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We all love blond hair Miley Stewart in Hannah Montana, but Miley Cyrus doesn’t. "From the time I was 11, it was, 'You're a pop star! That means you have to be blonde, and you have to have long hair, and you have to put on some glittery tight thing.” Miley shared with Marie Claire magazine. "Meanwhile, I'm this fragile little girl playing a 16-year-old in a wig and a ton of makeup. It was like Toddlers & Tiaras. I had fucking flippers." She claimed that being made to look like someone she wasn't "probably caused some body dysmorphia" because she had been "made pretty" for so long that she didn't know who she was when it ended.

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BELOVED: Marion Cotillard shared 18 selfies on Instagram after getting lip injections for the film Rock'n Roll.  She didn't even keep the look, suffice to say she was having a good time while filming.

Source: marioncotillard / Via instagram.com

BRUTAL: Matt Bomer lost over 35 pounds for his role in The Normal Heart as an AIDS patient.

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The transformation was undoubtedly difficult for him, nevertheless he was delighted to do it as it gave him a "lust for life" and a strong desire to fight and live like his character. Ryan Murphy, the director, said it got so bad that he was essentially too weak to move between takes, and that made him cry every time he saw Bomer because he was worried about his health.

BELOVED: Kate Hudson also had to shave her head for her role In Sia's Music.

Source: Vertical Entertainment /Courtesy Everett Collection

"I Love It," she exclaimed on Jimmy Kimmel Live! about her new look. In fact, she kept her hair short for a long time, rarely using extensions.

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BRUTAL: Jared Leto lost 40 pounds for his role in Dallas Buyers Club

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Claiming that he "stopped eating" and that experience changed his "entire being." "It changes the way you walk, the way you sit, the way you think," he said.

BELOVED: Amybeth Mcnulty had to dye her normally-blonde locks red for her role as Anne in Anne With An E.

Source: amybethmcnulty / Via amybethmcnulty

She loves it, albeit nervous at first as she had never dyed her hair before. Then she wished that she was a natural redhead. "It turned into a beautiful red — so pretty. And my friends were like, 'It suits you better than your blonde hair.'”

Source: Netflix / Courtesy Everett Collection

BRUTAL: Zac Efron got excessively ripped for his role in Baywatch. And he thought his body was "unrealistic" and “stupid”.

Source: Paramount Pictures

He revealed the work that went into his look for the film on Hot Ones: “ I realized when I was done with that movie, I don’t ever want to be in that good of shape again. Really. It was so hard. You’re working with almost no wiggle room. You’ve got things like water under your skin you’re worrying about. Make your six-pack into a four-pack. Shit like that, that's just not… it’s just stupid; it’s just not real."

Source: Derek Storm/Everett Collection

BELOVED: Jeff Bridges thought going bald and growing a beard for Iron Man was "wonderful," and he'd always wanted to do it.

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BRUTAL: Tricia Helfer dyed her hair bleach blonde for her role in Battlestar Galactica, yet they had to keep cutting it short in the second season due to how damaged her hair was becoming. when it began to fall out in chunks, they were forced to wear a wig.

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BELOVED: Rob Mcelhenney decided to gain weight for his role as Mac on It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia For The Seventh Season because he felt that in most sitcoms, the actors got thinner and "better-looking" with time, and always sunny was a sitcom subversion.

Source: Elizabeth Goodenough/Everett Collection

While his co-stars were concerned about his health after drastically changing his diet and gaining weight so quickly, McElhenney says he enjoyed it and the extra calories gave him more energy and made him funnier. As he began to lose weight, he stated that he missed it, saying, "I never felt tired. I felt fantastic. I felt f—ing fantastic."

Source: FX

BRUTAL: For the role of Abby on NCIS, Pauley Perrette had to dye her hair black for years. She dyed her hair so frequently that she developed an allergic reaction to the dye and was rushed to the emergency room.

Source: CBS

She later stated that she would switch to natural hair dyes or wear a wig (though no word on which she chose).

BELOVED: Sanaa Lathan shaved her head for her role in Nappily Ever After. She captioned her Instagram post, "I feel so light, I could fly away."

Source: Tina Rowden / Netflix / courtesy Everett Collection

BRUTAL: Jake Gyllenhaal had to lose 30 pounds for his role in Nightcrawler, despite starting at 180 pounds.

Source: Chuck Zlotnick/Open Road Films/Courtesy Everett Collection

"I would try to eat as few calories as possible. I knew if I was hungry that I was in the right spot. Physically, it showed itself, but chemically and mentally, I think it was even a more fascinating journey. It became a struggle for me," he shared about the process.

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BELOVED: Emma Stone joked that she was "cursed" with her iconic red hair after being asked to dye it for superbad, and that directors on all of her subsequent projects insisted she keep it red.

Source: Columbia Pictures / courtesy Everett Collection

She's a natural blonde, which is why dyeing hair golden again for The Amazing Spider-Man was "delightful." for her.

Source: Kristin Callahan/Everett Collection

BRUTAL: Mark Hamill permanently dyed his hair purple for his brief role on The Flash.

Source: Katie Yu / The CW Network / courtesy Everett Collection

In fact, it took him three months and three dye jobs to reclaim his blonde hair. That’s not an easy experience!

Source: Twitter: @PauleyP

BELOVED: Charlize Theron famously went bald for her remarkable role as Furiosa in Mad Max: Fury Road.

Source: Jasin Boland/Warner Bros. Pictures / courtesy Everett Collection

Theron really loves her new hair, and feels so convenient with it. “After that, I was 20 minutes early to everything in my life,” she said. “It was unbelievable, like how much time we spend on our hair. And then also, I think I emptied two garbage bags full of hair products and brushes. There’s something very freeing in that, for sure, definitely. And there’s always something nice when you kind of take that importance of your femininity and make it about something more than just your hair.”