One way to get noticed in Hollywood is to go through a shocking physical transformation for a film. There is no question that appearance plays a big part in how a character comes across, and these 10 actors made the ultimate sacrifice – their health – in order to do a role justice.
Above: Christian Bale in American Psycho (2000) and The Machinist (2004)
Christian Bale
The Machinist
Christian Bale may be most famous for playing the latest version of the Caped Crusader in the Batman franchise, but in 2004, he lost 63 pounds to play an insomniac in The Machinist. Bale has since admitted that he became obsessed with losing weight and took on a feeling of invincibility where he didn’t believe it would damage his body that much.
Bale received advice from a doctor at the beginning of his weight loss and was told he would have to take vitamin supplements, but after that he proceeded based on how his body felt. He said “I never got on a scale. I didn’t want it to be about the numbers. I wanted it to be about the look.” He ended up achieving his goal of looking like a man who hadn’t slept in a year by eating a can of tuna and an apple a day. Even most exercise was eliminated because he wanted to lose fat, but not bulk up.
