12 Actors Who Went Above And Beyond To Create Movie Characters That Left Us Mesmerized

Jessica Wilson
Aug 30, 2022
Aug 30, 2022

In the movie industry, most actors have starred in various projects and portrayed different kinds of characters for several decades. However, some of them have left a mark in the film industry to attend that they are even spoken about to this day. In other words, their careers are associated with iconic characters, blockbusters, and multiple prestigious awards.
But, not all people understand how much effort actors have put into their roles. Some think that acting is pretty easy: learn by heart a few lines of text, sit in an armchair in front of makeup artists and film some scenes. Actually, everything is not simple. Actors have to lose or gain a lot of weight, prepare for their roles for months, sometimes change their voice and wear bulky outfits. Some even put themselves in danger to have scenes as realistic as impossible. Whether the movie is successful or not, their efforts are deniable.
Today, we bring you a list of 14 super-dedicated actors whose hard work left us breathless.

#1 Natalie Portman

Source: East News, © Thor: Love and Thunder / Marvel Studios and co-producers

To fulfill perfectly her role in “Thor: Love and Thunder”, Natalie Portman changed her look so much that she looked like a professional bodybuilder. The actress spent 10 months bulking up and working out every day. She did weightlifting and boxing to improve muscle.

#2 Benedict Cumberbatch

Source: © Mick Atkins / Shutterstock.com, © The Imitation Game / Black Bear Pictures and co-producers

Benedict Cumberbatch portrayed the legendary cryptanalyst, Alan Turing, in the movie “The Imitation Game” which was a huge challenge. During filming, he wore a copy of Turing’s 60-year-old dentures. The actor shared, “Turing got under my skin. It was just so pitiful. Imagining the physical weakness, the vulnerability, the exhaustion, how the hormones affected his emotional state... It was all ungovernable”.

#3 Kate Winslet

Source: Gilbert Flores / East News, © jonplandau / Instagram

Kate Winslet is absolutely a talented actress with incredible transformation ability. While filming “Avatar 2”, she broke the on-film breath-hold record with 7.14 minutes which is longer than Tom Cruise’s 6 minutes in “Mission: Impossible”. The actress shared, “Your mind completely drifts off. You can’t think about anything, you can’t make lists in your head, you’re just looking at the bubbles underneath you”.

#4 Emma Stone

Source: Marechal Aurore / East News, © The Favourite / Fox Searchlight Pictures and co-producers

Emma Stone starred as Abigail in the historical movie “The Favorite”, in which she underwent some pain. After putting on a very tight corset for days, her organs seemingly shifted. Stone said, “For the first month, I couldn’t breathe”.

#5 Forest Whitaker

Source: East News, © The Last King of Scotland / Fox Searchlight Pictures and co-producers

To excellently portray Idi Amin in “The Last King of Scotland”, Forest Whitaker not only learned to speak Swahili but play the accordion. Additionally, he gained an astonishing 30 pounds for the role. His performance is so perfect that his family didn’t want to talk to him. An Oscar is a return.

#6 Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams

Source: East News, © Blue Valentine / Incentive Filmed Entertainment and co-producers

Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams played a struggling married couple in the 2010 romance drama “Blue Valentine”. To depict a couple realistically, Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams and their on-screen daughter lived together for one month. They lived like normal families: washed dishes 3 times a day, shared a bathroom, and did laundry together.

#7 Jamie Foxx

Source: East News, East News

To prepare for the role of Ray Charles in the movie “Ray” (2014), Jamie Foxx lost 30 pounds. During filming, he also wore prosthetic eyelids in order to realistically depict the musician’s blindness. The actor shared that during the first 2 weeks of filming, he suffered panic attacks caused by the prosthetics.

#8 Charlize Theron

Source: agefotostock / East News, © Atomic Blonde / Focus Features and co-producers

Many fans were wondering if Charlize Theron was a real spy in the movie “Atomic Blonde”. The actress threw herself so deep into the training that she twisted her knee, bruised her ribs, and clenched down on her jaw so hard she broke her teeth. ’’It was really intense,’’ Theron admitted.

#9 Ed Harris

Ed Harris took on the role of famous American painter in the movie “Pollock”. To prepare for the role, he took art lessons and built his art studio where she spent days making artwork. Moreover, Harris paid a visit to Jackson Pollock’s old home and spent a night in the artist’s bed to get the feel of the character.

#10 Leonardo DiCaprio

In a scene in “Django Unchained”, Leo DiCaprio slammed his hand so hard on the table that he broke a glass and seriously cut himself. But he ignored the pain and stayed in character. His effort made many more admire.

#11 Meryl Streep

Meryl Streep took on the role of a coldhearted fashion magazine editor Miranda Priestly in “The Devil Wears Prada”. To depict the character’s personality, the actress decided to cut communication with all the cast members which made her feel alone for a long time. She confessed that this acting approach made her so depressed that she decided to give it up completely.

#12 Jake Gyllenhaal

For his role in the drama, End of Watch, Jake Gyllenhaal spent 5 months with police officers out in the streets of Los Angeles, witnessing all kinds of real-life crime scenes. He even had to endure demanding fight training every day for months. The actor explained that the idea was “to stay true to the authenticity of what we saw, not the romantic version”.

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