Physical transformations draw a lot of attention. Any time a movie comes out and an actor doesn’t look like their normal self, either gaining weight or losing it, the media talks about it. Critics seem to like it, they think it shows extra commitment to the craft, and to the embodiment of the character. The Academy is often impressed by it, a lot of times these types of roles garner Oscar nominations. I guess it’s a chicken or egg situation, since I’m sure these actors only take roles like that for movies that are going to either make them movie stars, or earn them critical acclaim.
Biopics are often a big source of weight gain, in order to more accurately portray a real life character. For this list, the role matters. I want to see the character’s physicality in the performance. Otherwise it just feels like a gimmick.
SPOILERS ahead, it’s always a risk. I will include a link where I can find them.
The most honored of honorable mentions: Actors like playing boxers because it’s a chance for them to get shredded, and look tough. There’s often physicality in the role since they embody the swagger of a boxer, and we also watch them box, a physical act that requires training to be portrayed accurately. However, I want to shout out Natalie Portman and Mila Kunis for Black Swan. Both lost weight and trained for hours every day to portray ballet dancers. There aren’t as many ballet movies, but it’s just as physically demanding as boxing. Portman also dislocated a rib during rehearsals. Her stick figure look not only looked authentic, but contributed to the psychosis that the character was dealing with.
5. Matthew Fox – Picasso, in Alex Cross (2012)
I never watched Lost, but Matthew Fox was a big TV star when this movie came out. It wasn’t a particularly memorable movie, though if it went well enough I’m sure it could’ve been a franchise – however, Fox was playing the villain, someone who gets defeated in the end and wouldn’t show up in any sequels.
There are a couple of things to like about this transformation. The literal aspect: Fox was almost unrecognizable. He shaved his head, dropped over 20 pounds, and got shredded. Unless the camera stayed on him for an extra second, it was difficult to see it was him. Then, to reiterate, there’s the contextual aspect of this transformation: he’s not trying to get an Oscar by playing someone important, he’s not trying to be a gigantic movie star by playing a muscular leader of a tribe in ancient Babylon. It’s a budding star who just decided he wanted to ditch his good looks and play the villain rather than the leading man.
Maybe he thought the movie would be better than it was, and that the character would become an iconic movie villain. It’s tough to say, but it was an interesting career choice, and Fox did the work to transform.
4. Charlize Theron – Aileen Wuornos, in Monster (2003)
To some extent, this may contradict everything I say about biopics and potentially gimmicky transformations. I remember this role being talked about a lot when it came out. However, I think this type of transformation is a bit less typical than the usual Oscar fare.
For one thing, Theron was playing a real person, but not a wildly famous public figure. So, the transformation didn’t necessarily trigger an immediate “oh my god she looks just like her” reaction.
For another, she changed her face, so while everyone can be initially shocked when they see her on-screen, it wears off and eventually people forget it’s her, and just watch the movie. As opposed to many other transformations when it’s impossible to ignore that we’re looking at fat Gary Oldman, etc.
Finally, for these transformations, most celebrities get either really fit or very overweight. Sometimes they put on a prosthetic. Theron put on ~30 pounds, but wasn’t fat. She just made herself significantly less appealing, something that doesn’t always happen in Hollywood. The look fit the character’s personality, and the horrible crimes the character committed.
3. Christian Bale – From Trevor Reznik (The Machinist, 2004) to Batman (Batman Begins, 2005)
Christian Bale has transformed for a lot of movies, and could be on this list for many of them. He is as committed to his roles as anyone in history, and he is certainly among the top actors working today. The Batman Begins transformation isn’t necessarily special on its own, but for the fact that he did it coming off his transformation for The Machinist.
His normal weight was 173 pounds, he dropped to 110 to play the insomniac, Trevor Reznik. By the way, the insomnia, inspired by guilt/trauma, is an interesting reason for a character to be emaciated. Starving, drug addict, hunger striker, those have all been done. The after-effects of trauma aren’t often looked at, particularly from a character like Reznik’s perspective.
Bale jumped up to over 200 pounds to play Batman, meaning he gained 100 pounds back. The caped crusader is a superhero who obviously needs to be physically imposing. Bale was great in the role, both as Bruce Wayne and as Batman. He projected the menace of Batman as well as great physical capability.
Bale claims to be done losing weight, so we likely won’t see anymore roles like this. His commitment is commendable, and although it seems gimmicky or Oscar-y from other people, Bale is so intense that I figure he’d gain or lose the weight regardless. The Machinist wasn’t nominated for any Oscars, he still went for it, even though he knew he had a career-altering franchise role coming up afterward. He just likes to go the distance.
2. Edward Norton – Derek Vineyard, in American History X (1998)
Let me start by saying this is one of my all-time favorite leading man performances, and I think one of the best all-around acting performances of the last 25 years. So this one gets a boost from the quality of the performance and the movie.
The weight gain, and the physique, weren’t necessarily anything out of the ordinary with all of the superhero movies, or any boxing movie, but for Norton, and for the role, it’s a perfect fit. Edward Norton generally has a lanky build, and he has had a few roles where he plays either a wimp or a wormy (pun not intended) type of character. In American History X, he is a forcefully charismatic leader of men. Given that the movie takes place in lower-middle class neighborhoods in Los Angeles, Norton needed to look physically imposing to be believable as the alpha dog. Many of the characters come from tougher upbringings and have criminal backgrounds, so there’s just no way Norton would’ve gained any of their respect if they (or we, as the audience) didn’t believe he could beat everyone up.
His character’s personality is very direct, smart and encapsulating. He is a very engaging speaker, and although I don’t have much sympathy for skinheads, it’s easy to see how they could’ve looked up to Norton, and followed his lead. When speaking to his followers, or in the dinner table debate scene, Norton’s points and arguments are all thoughtful (for that specific point of view, anyway) and well-delivered. His mental muscles just perfectly match his physicality.
Mentally and emotionally, Norton was perfect for the role, but it would’ve been a shame if either he was too skinny, or if the studio went with someone bulkier to meet the physical demands for the role, but couldn’t necessarily be as cerebral as Norton. It is a great use of transformation, where it completely adds to the character, without being distracting or gimmicky.
1. Robert De Niro – Jake La Motta, in Raging Bull (1980)
Was it going to be anyone else? There are a couple of key reasons why this role is pretty easily the G.O.A.T in this category. The first is that, this is the O.G. of physical transformations. The second reason is that there are two transformations that the actor undergoes!
As far as being the O.G., I can’t swear that there were no actors prior to this that underwent a physical transformation, but this was the first role where the transformation was talked about and noteworthy. As noted in a previous post, this is the role that set the standard for actors looking to gain/lose weight for a role. Being the O.G. isn’t reason enough to occupy the #1 spot.
The second reason this is at the top is that we see De Niro get jacked and fat for this role, which is a rarity in movies. An “advantage” of a biopic role would be that we’re with one character over the course of their life. De Niro was portraying Jake La Motta, a noteworthy boxer. So, for most of the movie, De Niro is in “boxing shape”, ripped, six-pack, he looks the part that way. Over time, as La Motta starts to go off the rails a bit, he starts to gain weight. Then famously, toward the end of the movie, he is an overweight nightclub owner trying to make it as an entertainer. De Niro put on 60 pounds in the middle of shooting in order to portray the La Motta who let himself go.
Given that he was playing a boxer, physicality was a big part of the role. Not just looking the part, but carrying himself the right way. At the end, when he is overweight, there’s a heaviness to his breath that a fat suit can’t replicate. The way he carries himself as a tough guy is boosted by his muscular frame. It’s an all-time great acting performance. Adding the weight gain helped make it legendary.
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