Shedding Some Light Weight

In our weight-obsessed culture full of fad diets and obesely disgusting people, Hollywood really knows how to pack it on or take it down a notch. Since most actors have personal trainers and cooks, it's not nearly as hard for them to slim down or get buff. However, for some roles, major changes are called for. Changes that will surely lead to health problems later in life. Here it is, Top 7 Weight Changes for a Film.

7. Edward Norton for American History X (1998)
Weight Gained/Lost: Gained 30 lbs of muscle in 3 months
How'd he do it? For 3 months straight, Norton lifted weights and went on the tasty diet of protein and blended meat shakes, which consist of blended roast beef. Yummy. He also shaved his head and picked up white supremicist habits to be more believable. It worked. He was nominated for an Academy Award for the role, which remains one of the most chilling pieces of acting put on screen in the last 20 years.
Don't believe me or haven't seen it? Check out this clip which can only be described as "haunting":


6. Sylvester Stallone for Cop Land (1997)
Weight Gained/Lost: 40 lbs of fat in about 4-5 months
How'd He Do It? Stallone, who was only paid the minumum for an actor for this role, hung out at a local pancake house and dieted on their giant pancakes to beef up his body for the role of, and here's a shocker, a fat cop. Stallone shocked the world by trying to act but didn't shock anyone when he failed. Not one of his better movies, Stallone should stick to playing renegade heroes and boxing champs that don't require much dialogue.
You can see Stallone's unusually fat ass in this terrible clip:


5. Matt Damon for Courage Under Fire (1996)
Weight Gained/Lost: Lost 40 lbs during making of the film
How'd He Do It? Damon went on a very unhealthy regimen of food deprivation coupled with heavy workouts. In fact, Damon's health was so bad after that he was on constant medical supervision for months after shooting the film. His role in Courage Under Fire, a extremely poor man's Rashoman, which I'm sure you've never heard of, mixed with a little Blackhawk Down, impressed many, including Francis Ford Coppola, director of The Godfather, who casted Damon in his next movie. However, Damon was very lucky his heart didn't shrink and had to take medication for years to correct the damage done.
Losing weight is very healthy in most cases but, in Damon's case, borderline insane. Here is Damon looking deathly thin:

4. Robert DeNiro for Raging Bull (1980)
Weight Gained/Lost: Put on 60 lbs of muscle during filming
How'd He Do It? For DeNiro's best (arguably) performence of his career, he trained with real boxing trainers and hung out with the real Jake Lamotta (whom he was portraying) during the entire shoot of the movie. DeNiro actually fought in 2 real boxing matches and won both. He was rightfully awarded an Academy Award for Best Actor.
DeNiro's performence is nearly flawless and even shocked the real Jake Lamotta who, after watching the movie, asked his wife if he was really like that, to which she replied "You were worse." Glad I didn't live in that house. Here is a pretty telling scene from the movie:


3. Jared Leto for Chapter 27 (2007)
Weight Gained/Lost: Gained 67 lbs in 3-4 Months
How'd He Do It? To play John Lennon's killer, Mark David Chapman, Leto went on a diet that we can only dream of getting away with in reality. To start, he put pints of chocolate Haagen-Dazs Ice Cream in the microwave, melted them, and DRANK THEM! He continued to do this but added olive oil and soy sauce to make himself more bloated. Are you kidding me? He's a vegetarian so he couldn't eat meat but has already lost the weight on an all-liquid diet consisting of maple syrup, lemon juice, cayenne pepper, and water.
He also lost 28 lbs to play a heroin addict for Requiem for a Dream and couldn't have sex with then fiance Cameron Diaz for months. Ouch, talk about dedication. Here is Jared, but don't confuse him with Subway Jared:


2. Vincent D'Onofrio for Full Metal Jacket (1987)
Weight Gained/Lost: Gained 70 lbs of fat, a world record for an acting role
How'd He Do It? In addition to shaving his head, D'Onofrio put on the weight more gradually than most on the list, taking 7 months to secure the most unhealthy role of his career. I'm just going to assume he had a steady diet of junk food, fast food, and no exercise. He had to go through "boot camp"-type training at 280 lbs, messing up his knee. D'Onofrio's, that fat guy from one of the Law and Orders, was visually haunting, as well as terrifying. The role may have inadvertenly triggered a future of fatness instead of his slimmer athletic build he once had.
Here's his disturbing turn as Pvt. Pyle:


1. Christian Bale for The Machinist (2004), Batman Begins (2005) and Rescue Dawn (2006)
Weight Gained/Lost: Lost 63 lbs in 4 months for The Machinist, then gained 100 lbs of muscle in 6 months to play Batman. After that, he lost 55 lbs for his role in Rescue Dawn (2006) soon following Batman.
How'd He Do It? How indeed. For The Machinist, he trimmed down to 120 lbs, the weight of Barry Bonds' head, by eating only salads and apples, smoking cigarettes, chewing gum, and drinking nonfat lattees. He wanted to lose even more but the director, his doctor, and his wife all convinced him otherwise. Bale did not have any trainer of any kind to lose the weight, doing it all on his own. In order to gain the weight to play Batman, Bale underwent rigorous weight training and cardio workouts, as well as eating a shitload of protein along with other high-carbohydrate meals and protein shakes. After beefing up to 200 lbs, Bale accepted the role of captured fighter pilot Steve Jacoby in Rescue Dawn, which called for a 55 lb weight lost. The film was shot in reverse, as Bale gained the weight throughout shooting. If that isn't enough, he also needed to gain that back to star in the movies 3:10 To Yuma, The Prestige, and the new Batman Dark Knight.
Intense to the extreme, one can only hope all this weight loss and gain and loss and gain does not lead to an early death. His total weight fluctuation in the last 3 years is 275 lbs. Here are a few clips showing his weight loss and gain:


6 months later.....



And 1 Year Later.....



And 6 Months Later....



I hope you are not too disgusted with my recent column but now you know the sacrifices that some dedicated actors make to perfect their roles. I do not recommend any of the above. I will be back soon enough to give you another lovely column on something has means actually nothing to your daily life. Until then, adios, Merry Christmas, and, of course, Happy Kwanzaa for my minority readers!