17 actors who gained weight for movie and TV roles

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Kirsten AcunaMay 9, 2020, 02:59 IST
17 actors who gained weight for movie and TV roles

Mark Ruffalo stars on HBO's "I Know This Much Is True."Atsushi Nishijima/HBO

  • Actors have undergone extreme workouts and diets to pack on the pounds and muscle for their roles as villains, boxers, and CIA operatives.
  • Mark Ruffalo gained 30 pounds for HBO's new series, "I Know This Much Is True."
  • From Hillary Swank to George Clooney and Ewan McGregor, keep reading to see actors have gained weight for movie and TV roles.
  • Visit Insider's homepage for more stories.
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Vincent D'Onofrio gained about 70 pounds for his role in "Full Metal Jacket."

Vincent D'Onofrio gained about 70 pounds for his role in "Full Metal Jacket."
Gaining nearly 70 pounds wasn't easy emotionally for D'Onofrio. Warner Bros.

D'Onofrio brought his weight up to 280 pounds to play the troubled Marine Corps recruit Leonard in Stanley Kubrick's 1987 film "Full Metal Jacket."

The transformation didn't go without its difficulties. D'Onofrio told the New York Times it complicated something as simple as shoe tying to socializing in public.

"It changed my life," D'Onofrio said. "Women didn't look at me; most of the time I was looking at their backs as they were running away. People used to say things to me twice, because they thought I was stupid."

Still, it didn't prevent him from doing it again years later. The actor also gained 45 pounds for the 2002 movie "The Salton Sea."

Robert de Niro gained 60 pounds for one scene of "Raging Bull."

Robert de Niro gained 60 pounds for one scene of "Raging Bull."
Robert De Niro won an Oscar for his efforts in "Raging Bull." MGM

Talk about dedication.

In order to play the iconic boxer Jake LaMotta in "Raging Bull," Robert de Niro built muscle and trained with the legend himself to get the look of the boxer during his heyday. De Niro even fought in three different boxing matches in an attempt to be as convincing as possible.

De Niro packed on almost 60 pounds of weight to capture LaMotta's later years, a drastic body change that gave the actor rashes and breathing issues.

It paid off — De Niro picked up both a Golden Globe and Academy Award for his role in "Raging Bull."

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Ryan Gosling gained 60 pounds for "The Lovely Bones" drinking melted ice cream.

Ryan Gosling gained 60 pounds for "The Lovely Bones" drinking melted ice cream.
Ryan Gosling surprised everyone when he showed up on set overweight. AP / Carolyn Kaster

The actor ended up never appearing in the 2009 film.

Gosling told The Hollywood Reporter Peter Jackson fired him when he showed up 60 pounds heavier to the set.

"I was 150 pounds when [Jackson] hired me, and I showed up on set 210 pounds," Gosling said. "We had a different idea of how the character should look. I really believed he should be 210 pounds. I was melting Haagen Dazs and drinking it when I was thirsty."

Gosling admitted he didn't think he looked great; however, he thought it was necessary for the role of a grieving father.

"I really believed in it. I was excited about it. I showed up, and they said, 'You look terrible.' And I said, 'I know! Isn't it great?' 'No, it's not. Go hit the treadmill' ... then I was fat and unemployed."

Jackson's wife, Fran Walsh, told a different story about the actor's insecurities for the role resulting in his ultimate departure.

Charlize Theron gained about 50 pounds for "Tully" by eating at all hours.

Charlize Theron gained about 50 pounds for "Tully" by eating at all hours.
Charlize Theron said she was depressed after gaining weight in a short time for "Tully." Focus Features/Ulet Ifansasti, Getty Images

"I just I wanted to feel what this woman felt, and I think that was a way for me to get closer to her and get into that mindset," Theron told "Entertainment Tonight" about putting on the weight in three months to play a mother of three. But it wasn't easy to do.

"I got hit in the face pretty hard with depression," she added. "The first three weeks are always fun because you're just like a kid in a candy store. So it was fun to go and have breakfast at In-N-Out and have two milkshakes. And then after three weeks, it's not fun anymore. Like, all of a sudden you're just done eating that amount and then it becomes a job."

It took her a year and a half to lose the weight.

It's not the first movie she has gained weight for. Charlize Theron told Guerrilla Traveler she ate junk food to gain 30 pounds for her prostitute-turned-serial killer role in 2003's "Monster."

Theron won the best actress Oscar for her performance.

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Rob McElhenney spent five months gaining 50 pounds to make his character funnier on "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia."

Rob McElhenney spent five months gaining 50 pounds to make his character funnier on "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia."
Rob McElhenney embraced the challenge to gain weight for his FX series. FX

When the FX series was going to start its seventh season, creator and star Rob McElhenney thought gaining weight would be a great way to mock other shows. He also thought it would make his character, Mac, funnier.

"I was watching a popular sitcom and I noticed that all of the characters looked more handsome or just simply better looking ... and I thought I had never seen a show in which the characters — or the actor specifically — tried to look worse as the show progressed. And I thought that if there was ever going to be a show in which that would make sense then this would be it," said McElhenney in a behind-the-scenes conversation for the show. "I decided to look as terrible as possible."

McElhenney broke down what he ate to gain the weight in a chat with Nick Kroll in 2011.

"As I started off I was doing it with chicken breast and rice and vegetables," said McElhenney. "But when you’re four months in it and you have to muscle down 1,000 calories for the third time or fourth time in a day and you have to either eat three chicken breasts, two cups of rice and two cups of vegetables — or one Big Mac — you start to see the Big Mac and realize it’s a lot easier to get down … And then every once in a while I would eat three donuts. And every day one of my meals was a high-calorie protein shake."

Matthew McConaughey said he ate pizza all the time to gain 47 pounds for his role in "Gold."

Matthew McConaughey said he ate pizza all the time to gain 47 pounds for his role in "Gold."
Previously, McConaughey had lost nearly 50 pounds for "Dallas Buyers Club." Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images

McConaughey had fun bringing his weight up. He told Graham Norton he instituted a rule where he said yes to any of his desires and carried that rule over to his family.

"Pizza night could be any night and if the kids wanted to go bowling at midnight on a school night that was a great idea too," McConaughey said. "Cheeseburger and beer for breakfast was a great idea too. I really relaxed on the rules!"

"I was fat and happy," he added.

McConaughey previously lost over 47 pounds for 2013’s "Dallas Buyers Club."

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Bale recently gained 40 pounds again to take on the role of Dick Cheney.

Bale recently gained 40 pounds again to take on the role of Dick Cheney.
Bale will play the former Vice President in "Vice." Nicholas Hunt/Getty Images and Annapurna Pictures

After gaining and losing weight for multiple roles, Bale told CBS's "This Morning" he worked with a nutrionist in order to gain the weight in a healthy way for "Vice."

"It was the first time in my life that I realized I had to do this in a smart way," he said. "I've lost weight, I've gained weight, [but] I never went to a nutritionist in my life. It was the first time that I said, 'You know what? I better really do this the right way.'"

You can read more on how Bale transformed for the movie, out in theaters December 25, here.

Christian Bale gained 43 pounds eating doughnuts, cheeseburgers, and more to bulk up for his role in "American Hustle."

Christian Bale gained 43 pounds eating doughnuts, cheeseburgers, and more to bulk up for his role in "American Hustle."
Christian Bale has often lost and gained weight for film roles. Francois Duhamel / Sony Pictures

Bale estimated going from about 185 to 228 pounds for "American Hustle." The actor also shaved his head, and slouched enough to accidentally herniate a disc in his back.

The actor was so unrecognizable that costar Robert de Niro had to ask who Bale was upon meeting him on set.

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Bradley Cooper gained 40 pounds for "American Sniper."

Bradley Cooper gained 40 pounds for "American Sniper."
Bradley Cooper received an Oscar nod for his role in "American Sniper." Keith Bernstein/Warner Brothers

Cooper bulked up to 225 pounds to play US Navy SEAL Chris Kyle in "American Sniper."

The Oscar-nominated actor told Men's Health he worked with a trainer twice a day to help him gain the weight in 10 weeks:

In the first workout, beginning at 5 a.m., they focused on structural exercises like deadlifts and squats to build a foundation solid enough to hold the extra mass. The second workout, late in the afternoon, was more focused on traditional muscle-building exercises. Cooper needed both types of training to convincingly portray Chris Kyle.

George Clooney gained more than 30 pounds for his role in "Syriana."

George Clooney gained more than 30 pounds for his role in "Syriana."
George Clooney wasn't a fan of gaining weight for "Syriana." Warner Bros.

George Clooney didn't enjoy packing on the pounds for his role as a CIA operative in 2005's "Syriana."

"There was nothing fun about it," said Clooney. "There was not a moment that was fun about shooting this film. That's not a slap on the film or [the director Stephen] Gaghan. It's just that everybody has that year where you age a decade and this was that one for me."

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Matt Damon put on 30 pounds for his role in "The Informant."

Matt Damon put on 30 pounds for his role in "The Informant."
Matt Damon in "The Informant." screenshot/The Informant

Damon not only packed on the pounds for his role as the vice president-turned-CIA-informant Mark Whitacre, but he had fun doing it.

"I definitely got doughy," Damon told Entertainment Weekly. "I started eating like crazy and drinking dark beer. Between meals on set, I'd eat a No. 1 Value Meal at McDonald's and then Doritos on top of it. It was absolute heaven."

Ewan McGregor gained weight for his upcoming dual role on FX's "Fargo."

Ewan McGregor gained weight for his upcoming dual role on FX's "Fargo."
Here's one of the characters Ewan McGregor will play on "Fargo." Matthias Clamer/FX

McGregor opened up about getting ready to prepare for playing two very different twins on "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" back in October.

"I have to load on a bit of weight so I've started doing a bit of that ... just eating loads of food," McGregor said. "Anything I want, whenever I want."

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Renee Zellweger was on a 4,000-calorie-a-day diet to gain weight for “Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason.”

Renee Zellweger was on a 4,000-calorie-a-day diet to gain weight for “Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason.”
Renee Zellweger in "Bridget Jones" and in 2016 on "The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon." Universal, Theo Wargo/Getty Images

According to People, Zellweger went from a size four to 14 eating 4,000 calories a day to bring Jones back to the big screen in the 2004 sequel.

Though Zellweger was willing to gain weight for 2016's third movie, "Bridget Jones's Baby," director Sharon Maguire talked her out of it.

"Sharon was hoping we could show that Bridget had achieved her ideal weight, but at the same time it didn’t mean her life was perfect," Zellweger told the Daily Telegraph.

Zellweger told Vogue UK she ultimately ended up adding a few pounds for the role.

Tom Hardy gained nearly 30 pounds to play Bane in "The Dark Knight Rises."

Tom Hardy gained nearly 30 pounds to play Bane in "The Dark Knight Rises."
Tom Hardy as Bane in "The Dark Knight Rises." Warner Bros.

Some people didn't believe Hardy bulked up enough to play villain Bane in "The Dark Knight Rises." Before the film's release, some fans were slightly displeased. In the comics and animated series, Bane's muscles are exaggerated. He's able to lift 1,500 lbs.

Hardy later told CineMovie he got up to 190 lbs and defended his weight gain to fans:

I’m at 190[lbs]. Bat-fans want me to be over 220lbs. 400lbs. I’m like dude! Batman is like Superman, Spider-Man — he belongs to so many people. So many people love him. He belongs to them, and when you step into that kind of character, you are going to fail. And be judged. I’m human, and I do read things. I read the comments, and I cry. I can’t cry for everybody. I just give them a job, and be the best that I can be. Just trust me. I trust Nolan.

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Mark Ruffalo gained 30 pounds in five weeks to play one twin on HBO's "I Know This Much Is True."

Mark Ruffalo gained 30 pounds in five weeks to play one twin on HBO's "I Know This Much Is True."
Mark Ruffalo stars on HBO's "I Know This Much Is True." Atsushi Nishijima/HBO

Ruffalo plays twins Dominic and Thomas on the HBO series. During the Television Critics' Association press tour in January, Ruffalo said he shot scenes as Dominic before gaining the weight by force-feeding himself over five weeks to play Thomas.

The brother takes a combination of stabilizers and antipsychotics to help with a mental illness that cause weight gain.

"Those five weeks were kind of lonely, I'd been away from my family and (Thomas) hears voices, and I was imaging that life and there was a couple weeks where I was just staying by myself, going down into the heart of this mental illness and studying it," said Ruffalo, according to Variety.

Emma Stone gained 15 pounds of muscle to transform into a tennis legend for "Battle of the Sexes."

Emma Stone gained 15 pounds of muscle to transform into a tennis legend for "Battle of the Sexes."
Emma Stone as Billie Jean King. Melinda Sue Gordon/20th Century Fox

Trainer Jason Walsh helped Stone train to become Billie Jean King in about three months.

Stone drank two high-calorie protein shakes a day and underwent strength training exercises which included working out five times a week deadlifting 185 pounds and 70-pound dumbbells.

"She got really strong, I'm talking like, we were pushing and dragging sleds with hundreds of pounds, which was awesome to watch," Walsh told People.

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Ryan Reynolds gained 25 pounds of muscle for "Blade Trinity" and kept it on for "Green Lantern."

Ryan Reynolds gained 25 pounds of muscle for "Blade Trinity" and kept it on for "Green Lantern."
The photo on the left shows Ryan Reynolds in May 2004. On the right, you can see him in "Blade Trinity" which came out in December 2004. Donald Weber, Getty Images/New Line

Reynolds' trainer, Bobby Storm, told WebMD the star worked out 90 minutes every day for six to seven months to bulk up to 200 pounds.

"For a romantic comedy, he needs to shrink down a bit," said Storm. "For Blade and Green Lantern, he was 200 pounds and 8% body fat. For rom-coms [romantic comedies], he’s about 180 and 11% body fat."

Reynolds told Men's Fitness he gained 25 pounds of muscle for "Blade Trinity" after adhering to a 3,200-calorie daily diet and doing six-day-a-week workouts for three months.

Hilary Swank gained 19 pounds of muscle for "Million Dollar Baby."

Hilary Swank gained 19 pounds of muscle for "Million Dollar Baby."
Hilary Swank in "Million Dollar Baby." Warner Bros.

Hilary Swank consumed 210 grams of protein every day for 90 days while training for "Million Dollar Baby."

"My training was two and a half hours of boxing and approximately an hour and a half to two hours lifting weights every day, six days a week," Swank told Movieweb. "The producers asked me to gain 10 pounds of muscle. I gained 19 pounds of muscle. I started at 110 and went to 129. I would drink my egg whites because I could never eat 8 to 12 egg whites in a sitting. It's just the worst thing ever."

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