10 Best Shape Shifting
Performances
I'm not talking shape shifting like Mystique in the literal
sense. I'm talking about actors who physically altered themselves for the
craft. Bulked up, slimmed down, got fat, got skinny, got ugly... Any of
the above. The catch is that it has to be natural. Prosthetics and
heavy FX aren't allowed here otherwise we'd have NORBIT on the list and none of
us want that. So let's take a look at which performances transcended mere
acting and went into a whole new realm...
10. Leonardo DiCaprio -
WHAT'S EATING GILBERT GRAPE
It's one thing to act retarded (just as any cast member of "The Hills") but it's another to convince people you really are retarded. That was the response when Leonardo DiCpario (up until this point best known for "Growing Pains" and CRITTERS 3) pulled off with GILBERT GRAPE for which he was rewarded with his first Oscar nomination.
9. Benicio Del Toro - FEAR
AND LOATHING IN LAS VEGAS
To play Dr. Gonzo (ne Oscar Zeta Acosta)
in Terry Gilliam's FEAR AND LOATHING IN LAS VEGAS, Del Toro packed on the pounds
(a reported weight gain of over 40lbs) by eating bags of donuts. Keep that
in mind the next time you have a Krispy Kreme.
8. Javier Bardem - NO
COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN
It's not always about how drastic the transformation is, but how
effective (notice Jared Leto in CHAPTER 27 is nowhere to be found). While
Bardem's look isn't as impressive as gaining 40lbs, what he did to become Anton
Chigurh was nothing short of remarkable. He gained weight and grew out that
bob haircut that will still give people the heebie-jeebies when they see it. It was
so impressive it won Bardem his first Academy Award.
7. Cate Blanchett - I'M NOT
THERE
Any time a woman convincingly plays a man in a movie, you
deserve a spot on a list like this one. You get extra points when you're a
woman as beautiful as Cate Blanchett playing a man as famous (and not exactly
beautiful) as Bob Dylan. But Blanchett looked and sounded the part of
Dylan in I'M NOT THERE earning her an Oscar nomination in the process.
6. Russell Crowe - THE
INSIDER
Russell Crowe was cast as Jeffrey Wigand in Michael Mann's THE
INSIDER despite the fact that Wigand was in his 50s and Crowe was in his
thirties. Crowe gained the weight, wore glasses and dyed his hair grey in
order to look more like executive Wigand than the actor who a few short months
later would begin filming GLADIATOR. Premiere Magazine named it the 23rd
best performance of all-time and Crowe was rewarded with an Oscar nomination.
See you in a bit with 5-1
