Most actors push the boundaries to excel at their jobs. However, some get really extreme in their approach towards a role, even going through unreasonable levels of physical, emotional, or mental challenges in a quest for authenticity. For instance, drastic body transformations, peculiar habits, and lifestyles have set records for actors willing to do anything to become their characters. From Jared Leto's excessive method of acting to Jamie Foxx learning how to play piano left-handed, here are 20 actors who have pushed themselves for a role.
1) Jared Leto in Blade Runner 2049
Jared Leto is notorious for his extreme method of acting and his portrayal of the blind villain Niander Wallace in Blade Runner 2049 is no different. To truly immerse himself into the blind character, Leto wore bespoke opaque contact lenses, which completely obscured his vision. He refused to make his way around the set any other way, forcing the different actors and crew to guide him. Leto's dedication has been described by director Denis Villeneuve as "mesmerizing" while adding an eerie authenticity to the character.
2) Daniel Day-Lewis in My Left Foot
Daniel Day-Lewis's transformation into Christy Brown, a cerebral palsy patient, in My Left Foot is legendary. To fully immerse himself, Day-Lewis spent the entire shoot confined to a wheelchair, refusing to break character even off-camera. Crew members had to feed him and assist with personal needs since he only used his left foot for anything. This single-minded dedication led to a cracked rib from reclining in the chair for weeks. For this performance alone, Lewis took home an Academy Award and further consolidated his status as one of Hollywood's most dedicated method actors.
3) 50 Cent in All Things Fall Apart
Rap artist turned movie actor 50 Cent shook audiences when he shed over 50 pounds to star as a cancer-ridden football player in All Things Fall Apart. To achieve the drastic weight loss, he followed a liquid diet and ran on a treadmill for three hours daily. His transformation was so extreme that fans expressed concern for his health. While the film itself didn't receive critical acclaim, 50 Cent's physical dedication demonstrated his seriousness about acting, proving he was willing to go to great lengths for his craft.
4) Robert Pattinson in Good Time
The gritty, unglamorous transformation of a desperate criminal in Good Time had Robert Pattinson spend weeks living in a small basement apartment in New York to understand his character's lifestyle. Pattinson also slept in his character's clothes to give them an authentic worn-out look. He admitted to hardly showering during this time, which helped him sink into the character's chaotic, grimy existence. Critics praised his raw performance, with many considering it a career-defining moment.
5) Christian Bale in The Machinist
Not many know Christian Bale was pushed to a low of over 60 pounds for The Machinist. He was surviving on coffee, apples, and cigarettes and was left with a skeletal weight of just 121 pounds. Bale wanted to present his character's mental breakdown along with his soulless appearance. The physical strain left him drained and barely recognizable, but the performance swept all the major awards.
6) Daniel Day-Lewis in The Last of the Mohicans
Daniel Day-Lewis embodied Hawkeye from The Last of the Mohicans and for his role, he was said to live out his character for months in the wilderness, learning survival skills such as skinning animals, building shelters, and firing muskets. He could often be seen on set carrying a loaded rifle, insisting it kept him in character. Day-Lewis would only accept food if it were hunted or prepared by himself, as he completely connected with 18th-century frontier life.
7) Leonardo DiCaprio in The Revenant
Leonardo DiCaprio performed relentlessly in The Revenant to win an Oscar after years of waiting, but he received high praise for it. To play survivalist Hugh Glass, DiCaprio faced subzero temperatures, waded across icy rivers, and even dined on raw bison liver despite being a lifelong vegetarian. "One of the toughest parts," he said of his work. "There were times when it was unbearable." The show was a visceral, almost primal performance, but it went to show his incredible resilience and commitment to his craft.
8) Shia LaBeouf in The Tax Collector
Shia LaBeouf is known to push boundaries, and The Tax Collector sees him go over the line. For the character of Creeper, the very tattooed man-LaBeouf permanently inked his chest completely. Most actors would opt for temporary tattoos, but LaBeouf's decision shocked everyone. He also apparently shadowed gang members in LA to fully immerse himself into their world. While the movie received mixed reviews, LaBeouf's immersion into the role was undeniably intense.
9) Tom Cruise in Mission: Impossible
Tom Cruise is famed for insisting he does all his stunts in the Mission: Impossible franchise and one stunt to speak of for Fallout drove the limits of insanity. Cruise jumped over 100 times from high altitude to capture perfectly a HALO (High Altitude, Low Opening) parachute sequence. The stunt required very hard timing and physical endurance to avoid fatal errors. In another stunt, Cruise actually broke his ankle and was back filming within weeks.
10) Margot Robbie in Suicide Squad
To transform into Harley Quinn for Suicide Squad, Margot Robbie took her preparation to wild extremes. She prepared intensively in gymnastics and aerial silks to do many of her stunts. Robbie also learned live rat handling, including one that co-star Jared Leto gifted her. Off-screen, she dived into Harley's twisted psyche, delving into comic lore to help nail the complex personality of the character. Her electrifying performance stole the show, becoming one of the movie's most memorable highlights.
11) Hilary Swank in Boys Don't Cry
Hilary Swank took her acting to extreme dimensions to play the role of Brandon Teena, a transgender man, in Boys Don't Cry. Swank stayed male for a month before filming by cutting her hair short, binding her chest, and lowering her voice to achieve the full character image. She even introduced herself as "Brandon" on all her visits, being in character not only during shooting but also in everyday life. Her commitment paid off with an Academy Award for Best Actress, but the taxing involvement also left her drained emotionally at the end of production.
12) Jamie Dornan in The Fall
Jamie Dornan's scary role in The Fall resulted from some dark and bizarre preparation. To get into his character's head, Dornan said he stalked a woman. While he explained he never came near her, the gesture helped him to feel some of the tension and predatory instincts that his character would experience. Dornan also watched crime documentaries and isolated himself to achieve the eerie detachment of his role. The end was a hauntingly believable portrayal that earned critical acclaim but also drew attention to his unsettling method.
13) Nicolas Cage in Birdy
Nicolas Cage was at his most extreme in Birdy. To play a soldier struggling to cope with the aftermath of war, Cage threw himself completely into the role, working with veterans to understand firsthand the trauma that these young men and women suffered when they came back from military service. He shed many pounds and commuted with veterans to get a more realistic feel for the post-combat experience. Cage's method of acting reached high levels of commitment, something at which he was so intense that sometimes he felt emotionally wrung out.
14) Jamie Foxx in Ray
Jamie Foxx acts as the legendary musician Ray Charles in Ray, one of his most iconic roles. To play the blind musician, Foxx spent months meeting with Ray Charles himself to study his unique gestures, voice, and musical style. Foxx also learned how to play the piano left-handed, just like Charles, and wore prosthetic contact lenses to simulate blindness. He dedicated himself so fiercely to acting as Charles, a physical and emotional undergoing which Foxx says he could not fully comprehend without losing sight for days on end filming.
15) Robert DeNiro in Raging Bull
In order to play boxer Jake LaMotta in Raging Bull, Robert De Niro trained rigorously in the ring, developing expertise at the professional level, and even fought three real boxing matches with two wins. In the last half of the movie, De Niro adds over 60 pounds to the body of LaMotta to play the boxer's downward spiral in life. He received an Academy Award for method acting and became one of the greatest stars of his time.
16) Matt Damon in Courage Under Fire
Matt Damon prepared for the role of a guilt-ridden soldier in Courage Under Fire by risking his life through a dangerous weight-loss regimen. He wanted to lose 40 pounds within just a few months, so he ran excessively and only ate chicken and egg whites. The drastic weight loss left him so weak that he is reported to have needed medical treatment afterward to stabilize his health. Damon has since condemned such extreme measures, but his dedication undoubtedly gave the character an authenticity that critics and audiences praised.
17) Ashton Kutcher in Jobs
Ashton Kutcher's performance as Steve Jobs was more complex. Kutcher went as far as emulating Jobs' regimen of a fruitarian diet whereby the actor would survive merely on apples, oranges, and other fruits. While this decision was an attempt to emulate the lifestyle of Jobs, it had serious health effects on Kutcher, sometimes admitting him to the hospital due to a pancreatic condition, somewhat mirroring the life struggles that Jobs endured in real life. Yet this was where there was an extreme personal cost for actors to make such performances real, no matter how severe the physical toll became.
18) Meryl Streep in Sophie's Choice
The role of Meryl Streep in Sophie's Choice, which won her an Oscar, was an emotional and physical sacrifice. The preparation included endless work with dialect coaches aimed at achieving an authentic Polish accent. Streep learned German and Polish dialogue to make her character more real. Streep often threw herself into the harrowing scenes, and she sometimes cried off-camera to achieve the emotional depth. Her thorough preparation had paid off to deliver one of the most iconic and heartbreaking performances in cinematic history.
19) Tilda Swinton in Suspiria
The role of an elderly male psychiatrist, Dr. Josef Klemperer, just marked the extent to which Tilda Swinton went with her method of acting in Suspiria. To portray Klemperer, Swinton spent hours each day in the makeup chair, fitted with prosthetics, and perfected the mannerisms of the character. She went so far as creating a fake history and giving all the credit to a fictional actor.
20) Jared Leto in Chapter 27
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Jared Leto gained a whopping 67 pounds to play Mark David Chapman, the assassin of John Lennon. Leto binged on junk food and even drank microwaved pints of ice cream mixed with olive oil for his role. This quick weight gain led to grave health problems, causing gout and, from then on, constant pain for Leto. Critics were divided over the film itself, but his extraordinary commitment to capturing Chapman's body and mental makeup established him as one of Hollywood's most extreme method actors.
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