10 Actors Who Went The Extra Mile To Commit To Their Monumental Roles

Hollywood is not for the faint-hearted!

Chelsi

• Published in Film & TV
• February 20, 2023

Anne Hathaway is one of the Hollywood actors who has certainly earned her laurels. Her iconic filmography, which was launched by her unforgettable role in The Princess Diaries, made her one of Tinsel Town's biggest stars.

The Princess Diaries movies are a personal guilty pleasure of mine. They are fun and lighthearted — perfect comfort viewing during rough days.

However, her role in Les Misérables is what cemented her as a formidable actor. Seeing Anne Hathaway transform from a prim princess into an impoverished Fantine was like a shock to the system.

Who can forget her one-take and haunting rendition of the song 'I Dreamed a Dream' as tears fell on her face? She also had to cut her hair off for the role, which drove her into a crying mess initially.

Her preparation to play Fantine started long before the cameras started rolling. To tap into Fantine's struggles, Anne practically starved herself to get the gaunt look of a person forced into prostitution by her dire circumstances.

She lost 25 lbs in two weeks to prepare for the role! The actor said it affected her mentally and physically, which helped her embody Fantine.

She said the goal was to look as near death as possible. Such stories are not unheard of in Hollywood; actors go to extremes to prepare for their roles, here are some other examples:

Tom Cruise in "Mission: Impossible — Fallout"

Tom Cruise is a daredevil of an actor. Unlike the urban legend of him being an unaging vampire, it is true that he does perform his own stunts.

For this installment of the Mission Impossible franchise, he performed a high-altitude, low-opening jump. He jumped out of a plane 106 times to capture the perfect shot!

Kumail Nanjiani in "Eternals"

The Silicon Valley actor had to go from adorable goof into a certifiable superhero for his role in Marvel's Eternals. He changed his diet and worked out for a whole year to achieve his chiseled physique.

Margot Robbie in "I, Tonya"

She had to be a believable Olympian, so for her role in "I, Tonya," Margot Robbie trained for four hours a day and five days a week to learn skating maneuvers. She was in the rink on the day before her wedding — what a commitment!

Henry Cavill in "The Witcher"

Playing Geralt of Rivia is not Cavill's only demanding role since he already tested his strength as Superman. But, for this particular role in The Witcher, the actor had to be dehydrated during filming to make his muscles more prominent.

Joaquin Phoenix in "Joker"

Joaquin Phoenix had a tall task when he took on the role of Joker. He lost 52 lbs in a short amount of time to prepare for the role which affected him psychologically as well.

Zendaya in "The Greatest Showman"

The "Euphoria" actor began trapeze training three months before filming to prepare for the musical movie. She performed some of the stunts in the movie since the director wanted to minimize the use of stunt doubles.

Daniel Radcliffe in "Jungle"

Daniel Radcliffe has successfully diversified his filmography since Harry Potter. For this biographical film, the actor lost weight and didn't eat anything two days prior to filming to get into survival mode.

Michelle Williams and Ryan Gosling in "Blue Valentine"

The actors played a married couple with a kid in the movie. The director asked the three to live together for a while to make their dynamic more genuine — they lived in a house together for a month to prepare!

George MacKay in "Captain Fantastic"

The whole cast had to do a lot of preparations for the film under the supervision of their director. On top of daily musical rehearsals, MacKay practiced yoga for 3-4 hours a day to perform the advanced yoga needed for his role.

Emile Hirsch in "Into the Wild"

The movie is based on a real story of a man who hiked across North America. The actor lost 26 pounds to prepare for the film and a further 15 pounds when his character was on the final leg of his journey.

Movies suspend reality for a little bit. The way actors prepare and carry out their roles is the biggest factor that captivates their viewers.

Going this far to prepare for a role is not always healthy, and the way it could affect these people in real life is another conversation altogether. It's not always good for them, but it certainly does make their movies extra remarkable.

Chelsi