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...
Click here for 10-6
5. Vincent D'Onofrio - FULL METAL JACKET
When I told my wife that the guy from "Law and Order: Criminal Intent" was the same guy from FULL METAL JACKET, she had to immediately go back and watch the movie again. D'Onofrio gained over 80lbs. for the film and earned a spot in the Guiness Book of World Records for the most amount of weight gained for a movie role. The performance was rendered truly remarkable when D'Onofrio went on to star as the muscle-bound Thor lookalike in ADVENTURES IN BABYSITTING that very same year.
4. Tom Hanks - CASTAWAY
To allow Tom Hanks to truly get into character as an island castaway, the movie went into hiatus for a full year while Hanks lost weight and grew his hair long with a gigantic beard (director Robert Zemeckis used the break to film WHAT LIES BENEATH). And it could very well be the best natural beard grown for a movie (leaps and bounds above that rug glued to the face of Tom Berenger in GETTYSBURG). His dedication earned Hanks an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor.
3. Christian Bale - THE MACHINIST
I know many of you are going to be upset that Bale isn't #1 but when you look at the two choices ahead of him, I think you'll agree it's a tough decision. Bale lost 62 pounds for the role taking him down to an astounding 120lbs. According to the DVD commentary he actually wanted to lose another 20lbs. but filmmakers urged him to stop when doctors felt he was facing a health risk. Like D'Onofrio above, Bale went from one extreme to the other, bulking up to play Batman in BATMAN BEGINS later that year.
2. Charlize Theron - MONSTER
Just look at the woman to the left and then the woman on the right and I barely have to explain the choice to put Theron at #2. There were plenty of people are early MONSTER screenings who didn't even realize it was Theron as serial killer Aileen Wuornos. Roger Ebert called Theron's performance "one of the greatest performances in the history of the cinema" and it's hard to disagree. Her physical transformation and the sheer skill of her performance earned her an Oscar and the runner-up position on this list.
1. Robert De Niro - RAGING BULL
The granddaddy of all physical transformations is Robert De Niro's tour de force performance as boxer Jake La Motta. What's most impressive is that the film contained two transformations. First De Niro bulked up to play a talented boxer. Then the production went on hiatus for four months while De Niro went method crazy and allowed himself to lose all the muscle mass and bulk up 60lbs. Premiere ranked the performance 10th all-time and both Roger Ebert and the American Film Institute call RAGING BULL the fourth best film of all-time.
