As we know some actors put a lot into the characters they portray.
In some cases they change their body to make the role more believable. You can tell when a good actor puts a lot into a role and gives a great performance, but when they put their body into it as well it becomes something magnificent to watch. I feel that it gives them more time to delve into the mind of who they are trying to become. It’s a type of method acting that gets taken to the next step; I call this the Day-Lewis affect.
Daniel Day-Lewis is known to never break character between takes to ensure a great performance. In some cases you might think he actually believes that he is someone else. My favorite example of this was in “My Left Foot.” He was playing a paralyzed poet and refused to get out of the wheelchair. It got to the point that crew members were carrying him around set and spoon-feeding him his meals.
The first film is Syriana where George Clooney put on 30 pounds in one month by eating countless amounts of pasta. He said this was his job as an actor, but on this particular film, my job was eating until I wanted to throw up and make sure I didn’t. This political thriller has multiple storylines that end up connecting at the end, like a political “Pulp Fiction.” The film follows the carrier of a CIA agent that realizes the awful truth of his job. It’s a great film that hits so close to home its believable.
The next film I’m sure most of you have seen but my not know what Tom Hanks went through. Cast Away is a little different from the other films because he went from overweight FedEx worker to a deserted plane crash survivor. He lost 55 pounds and was not allowed to cut or shave any hair on his face. The film is about a man who is on an abandoned island in the middle of the ocean. Hanks does an amazing performance and will be remembered for a long time to come.
Bronson is my favorite movie on this list. Tom Hardy put on almost 50 pounds of straight muscle for the role of Charles Bronson, a famous British criminal who was sentenced for seven years for robbery and ended up spending 30 years in solitary confinement. This is a true story and with Hardy’s amazingly believable performance and Refn’s spectacular direction, this film is something not to miss.
Ok… Last but not least is The Machinist. When talking about actors who change their body for a role, this is always number one on the list.
Christian Bale dropped 60 pounds to become a 121-pound skeleton. He did this by only eating an apple a day with coffee and water. The film is about a man suffering from a work related injury and insomnia. Not only does it take a toll on his body, it also is taking a toll on his mind. I would definitely give this two thumbs up even though I might only watch it once.
As always all these films are on Netflix and until next week stop scrolling and start watching.
