Celebrities Who Lost Weight for a Movie Role

Posted on Feb 17th 2011 3:00PM by Blisstree

We're not big fans of crash dieting, even if it is for your craft and you're under the strict supervision of a licensed doctor or nutritionist. (On the flip side, neither do we like it when TV and film characters eat everything in sight and never gain an ounce.) But these ten Hollywood celebrities clearly disagree, having shed serious pounds at one time or another for a movie role in order to cash a big paycheck -- and possibly end up giving an acceptance speech at the Oscars. True, a few of them may have actually gotten healthier and fitter by losing the weight (Jennifer Hudson, Seth Rogen), but most of them look scarily skinny and a few appear downright emaciated (hear that, Christian Bale?). Great performances or not, we simply cannot support yo-yo dieting to the extreme, particularly for shock value and the sake of a make-believe character. No matter how many red carpets this dieting practice leads to, it's just not healthy in the long run. Take a look at our gallery of the often disturbing weight transformations of these 10 celebs and find out just how many pounds they dropped to satisfy profiteering studio executives:

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Jennifer Hudson, "Winnie"
Hudson lost 80 pounds over six months to star in the upcoming biopic about Nelson Mandela's wife. But she did it through Weight Watchers (for whom she's a spokesperson), and most likely would have done it anyway. (She was overweight, after all. Funny, though, that she was nominated for an Academy Award for playing a fat girl in "Dreamgirls."

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Seth Rogen, "The Green Hornet"
Rogen shed an undisclosed amount of weight to play the comic book superhero, but let's face it, this was probably a positive life change for the Canadian actor's health.

Getty Images/Everett Collection

Tom Hanks, "Cast Away"
True, the Oscar winner was 40 pounds overweight for the beginning scenes of this movie, but then he dropped a whopping 70 pounds to play the same guy stranded on a desert island for a few years. Which means he ended up 30 pounds underweight. He was also super thin (and dying of AIDS) in "Philadelphia."

AP/Getty Images

Renee Zellweger, "Chicago"
Bridget Jones begone! Zellweger transformed into a total twig within a year of BJD to star alongside svelte co-star Catherine Zeta-Jones in 2002.

Getty Images/Everett Collection

Donnie Wahlberg, "The Sixth Sense"
The actor dropped 43 pounds, appeared ghostly and astounded audiences during his scenes. I see thin people.

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Beyonce, "Dreamgirls"
As if she wasn't thin and fit enough to be a member of a girl group in the first place, the singer/actress lost 20 pounds to play Deena Jones alongside Jennifer Hudson (also in this gallery).

AP/Getty Images

Natalie Portman, "Black Swan"
The intense actress lost 20 pounds to play an obsessed ballerina, which may not seem that crazy, except that Portman was a stick figure to begin with. But now that she's pregnant, she can make up for it.

WireImage/Everett

50 Cent, "Things Fall Apart"
The rapper said goodbye to 54 pounds to play an athlete diagnosed with cancer. Not worth the price of admission, in our opinion, even if that were a half-dollar.

Getty Images/Everett Collection

Mila Kunis, "Black Swan"
The former "That's 70s Show" star also dropped an astounding 20 pounds to play a dancer opposite Natalie Portman, which reduced her to a disturbing 95 pounds. Fortunately, she's put some of it back on.

Everett Collection/JPI Studios

Christian Bale, "The Machinist"
Bale lost 63 pounds for his art, and apparently, his mind went with the weight. He also played a skinny drug addict in "The Fighter."

More from Blisstree.com:
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Tags: beyonce, Black Swan, celebrity weight loss, christian bale, dreamgirls, jennifer hudson, Mila Kunis, movies, Natalie Portman, Renee Zellweger, seth rogen, Tom Hanks, weight loss

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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)

Kelly 2-19-2011 @ 2:08PM

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aapple1955 2-19-2011 @ 6:46PM

I seriously wish I could get my act in gear! Http://www.suesueandsue.com is a weight loss blog by 3 friends named Sue. Honest and inspiring.

Madeleine 2-18-2011 @ 8:51AM

You seem to be ignoring the statement that these actors' bodies are making. When all of the "super skinny" actors lost enough pounds to be underweight, it was because their role was designed to show the mental and physical dangers of being too thin. It's GOOD that we feel freaked out by Bale in the Machinist, or Portman in Black Swan -- their weight reflects their mental issues. And in the case of Tom Hanks... the point was that his character nearly starved to death. We should be glad that for most of these actors, they weren't losing the weight because super skinny meant healthy -- quite the opposite is true!

Heather 2-19-2011 @ 2:16PM

Why don't they get naturally thin actors/actresses to star in these roles? Some people are naturally thin and healthy, you know.

david 2-19-2011 @ 2:23PM

How could you have overlooked DeNiro in "Raging Bull" when listing actors who have lost (and in DeNiro's case, both gained and lost) weight for a movie role?

yaddayaddayadda 2-19-2011 @ 2:26PM

And here we are taught yo~yo dieting is dangerous. Well then I guess its just meant for certain people (us commoners) not actresses or actors! Double standard???????

Karambee 2-19-2011 @ 2:38PM

Seems like the author was using the topic as an excuse to make mean statements about some of the actors. Don't get all the judgment.

J V L 2-19-2011 @ 2:55PM

Svelte Catherine Zeta-Jones? Check the movie scene in which she dances "I Just Can't Do It Alone" from Chicago.

She is pregnant for part of that role with her second child and if you compare her between the first Zorro movie and Chicago, you will note a decided set of thunder thighs while doing that dance routine in Chicago.

The people who write these articles really need to check their opinions with documented video.

rm 2-19-2011 @ 11:53PM

Catherine Zeta Jones was not pregnant when filming Chicago, she was pregnant at the time of the Academy Awards, at least a year after filming had finished. Renee Zellweger was so thin that CZJ looked large.

Carolyn 2-19-2011 @ 3:17PM

Also Dennis Quaid lost 40 pounds for his role as Doc Holiday in the movie "Wyatt Earp".

Linda 2-19-2011 @ 3:28PM

And Sean Astin gained 30 lbs to play the role of Samwise in "Lord of the Rings."

licoriceval 2-19-2011 @ 3:33PM

Of the above movies, probably one of the least heralded, yet IMHO the best, is Christian Bale in "The Machinist." It's spellbinding suspense with an amazing ending.

glena 2-19-2011 @ 3:35PM

I knew a woman who stopped eating because her husband said she was FAT. When she finally decided she was really ill, she tried to put the weight back on, but her body was not responding to food, and she died. Losing weight quickly and in large volumes is a dangerous game, even if it is for money and fame.

veronica 2-19-2011 @ 8:16PM

Well sounds like she had more than a weight problem. Don't compare someone with a mental illness to actors who need to make sure they "become" the characters they were assigned too. They receive plenty of athletic and nutritional training, there is millions at stake, and they go back to their normal diets after the shoot.

Mike 2-19-2011 @ 3:38PM

I don't care what weight losing program you use, when you lose 80 pounds in 6 months, it's not good for you. It's the same with gaining weight for a movie role. But than, what is the price for glory (Oscar).

George 2-20-2011 @ 1:18AM

80 pounds in 6 months is not dangerous. It can be done extremely healthily. But it takes an incredible amount of discipline with an incredibly structured diet and 2-3 workouts per day. And the lose of the 80 pounds of body cr-ap MORE than makes up for whatever stress you put on your body for 6 months.

Annie 2-19-2011 @ 4:21PM

Jennifer Hudson was not nominated for an Oscar because she was "playing a fat girl" (as the article states). Jennifer was overweight at the time, but she WON the Oscar for her acting in Dreamgirls.

seasidebumette 2-19-2011 @ 6:18PM

WHO CARES ?

geri 2-19-2011 @ 6:40PM

America is a country of obese people. We need to concentrate on health rather than cosmetic perfection.

vaygollybum 2-19-2011 @ 7:02PM

There are many actors of the right size and shape that need jobs. And they are just as good as our favorites who were all unknowns at one time. Give them a chance.

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