Everyone fantasizes about the glamor and glitz that comes with being an actor. The stardom,
the seven-figure paychecks, and romantic relationships that blossom with your co-stars but sometimes
being an actor isn’t so glamorous. Some actors sacrifice more than they should, taking
it as far as putting their lives in danger just for a chance at winning that illustrious
Oscar gold.
Here is Screen Rant’s list of ten Actors Who Took Their Movie Roles Way Too Far.
Robert De Niro in Cape Fear
When Martin Scorsese cast Robert De Niro as a psychopathic rapist in his 1991 remake of
the same name, “Cape Fear” he knew he would get an amazing performance. De Niro
already worked as a taxi driver for twelve-hour days for weeks to prepare for Scorsese’s
“Taxi Driver.” So it was no surprise to the director with the extremes De Niro took
to prepare for this role. De Niro paid a dentist $20,000 to grind and stain his teeth to look
like a man who was in prison for years. The role won him Oscar and Golden Globe nominations
giving the actor a wide grin.
Rooney Mara in The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
David Fincher asked Rooney Mara to change her body to fit the character of antisocial,
hostile Lisbeth Salander in 2011’s “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.” He put her
on a strict diet and asked her to live in Stockholm on her own for weeks before production
began. He even had her dye her hair black, chop down her long bangs and bleach her eyebrows
white. What she did on her own was add numerous piercings to her body to get more into the
character. Her eyebrow, nose, lips and even her nipple! That’s dedication.
Christian Bale in The Machinist
It’s hard to believe that the muscle toned Christian Bale in the Batman Trilogy is the
same man in 2004’s “The Machinist”. Bale lost over 63 pounds for his role in the
psychological thriller that nearly cost him his life. He lost another 20 pounds from what
his nutritionist said was safe and wanted to loose another 5 but was told he would die
if he did. He survived off eating one apple and a can of tuna fish daily for weeks leading
up to shooting. To make matters worse, he smoked cigarettes to curve his hunger in this
8.2 million dollar grossing flop.
Billy Bob Thornton in Sling Blade
Billy Bob Thornton felt that he had a lot to prove in his directorial debut with 1996’s
“Sling Blade”. The American drama film set in rural Arkansas is lead by main character
Karl Childers, an intellectually disabled man played by Thornton. Thornton immersed
himself into the role causing many filmgoers not to recognize him on screen. To achieve
his characters peculiar shuffle, Thornton added broken pieces of glass to his shoes
to ensure continuity throughout shooting. Giving a new meaning the word, “Cut!”
on set.
Natalie Portman in Black Swan
Natalie Portman took herself from actress to believable ballerina for her role in “Black
Swan”, by doing extensive workouts. Portman said, "We usually started by swimming a mile
a day, doing the front crawl and breast stroke. Then we'd do two hours of ballet exercises
and resistance work." This was not her only form of preparation, she even held to a stringent
diet to accomplish the figure she required in her Oscar winning role.
Daniel Day-Lewis in The Crucible
We all know of the irregular ways Daniel Day-Lewis prepares for his roles but 1996’s “The
Crucible” might be the oddest. To prepare for the role of 17th-century farmer John Proctor,
Day-Lewis spent the summer before filming on location at Hog Island, northern Massachusetts.
He rode into work on a brown horse, lived without running water or electricity and helped
build the sets for the production. He even ditched the power tools of today and used
the tools of the 17th century.
Halle Berry in Jungle Fever
The talented Halle Berry has always been a gifted actress but was over shadowed by her
stunning looks for many years. Before winning in Oscar in 2001’s “Monster Ball” she
garnered her first critical fame in 1991’s “Jungle Fever”. The director couldn’t
see past her looks and felt she was too attractive for the role as a crack addictive prostitute
that lived on the streets. So during her 10 days of filming she never bathed or showered
to help portray the dirt her character lived in. This triggered her to apologize to her
co-stars those last days of shooting but she proved her talents and quieted her director.
Heath Ledger in The Dark Knight
Heath Ledger knew that the Joker wasn’t a character he that could easily get into
and even reached out to Jack Nicholson for help. Nicholson told him that he’d go crazy
reaching the levels he needed to for the role. Ledger locked himself into a hotel room for
four weeks with no contact to the outside world to prepare. He wrote in a personal diary
in which he wrote really insane things and slept for only 2 hours per day.
Margot Robbie in Suicide Squad
Margot Robbie is quickly becoming on of Hollywood’s most bankable stars but if acting doesn’t
work out maybe she can use her new skill as an Olympic swimmer. Robbie learned to hold
her breath underwater for over five minutes to perform a fight scene in “Suicide Squad”.
The actress was competitive with her stunt double and wanted to prove her mad skills.
Luckily she stopped at five minutes and went on to finish some other crazy scenes alongside
Jared Leto.
Shia LaBeouf in Fury
Here is one time an actor joined the US National Guard and joined a religion to prepare for
a movie. Director David Ayer told his cast he needed his actors to give him their all
for 2012’s “Fury. They did, but Shia LaBeouf went the furthest. He went as far as to cut
his face numerous times and even got a tattoo to give a more realistic portrayal on screen.
That’s not where the actor stopped, he also had a tooth removed and he kept his personal
hygiene to a bare minimum. Ayer loved this dedication and even had his actors’ fist
fighting on set every day.
What do you think of our video? Did we skip over any of your favorite actors that took
their movie roles way too far? Sound off in the comments below and be sure to subscribe
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