In the name of art: what are the actors ready for the role?

2024 Author: James Gerald | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 14:00

A real actor is ready to do anything to get us to believe him on screen. Not everyone can work according to the Stanislavsky system, but these heroes are ready to go all the way. Our selection includes the most courageous, persistent and talented!

Jake Gyllenhaal

Last year has been challenging for Jake Gyllenhaal. First, for filming in the action-packed thriller "Stringer", he lost 15 kg. But the transformation did not end there. Immediately after filming "Stringer", Gyllenhaal had to not only gain weight rapidly - he had to gain muscle mass and practice boxing skills. The actor needed to get in excellent sports form for filming in the sports drama "Lefty". For six months, Jake spent 6 hours a day in the gym, gained 15 kg of muscles and learned the left hook and uppercut. Now he can shout with confidence: I’m Phenomenal! As Eminem does in the film's official soundtrack. Gyllenhaal was worth sweating in every sense for a role that critics say reveals him as a classic dramatic actor. By the way, the hero's personal drama and exciting scenes of fights in the ring can be seen in cinemas from July 30.

Daniel Day-Lewis

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Daniel Day-Lewis spent most of his time in a clinic for people with disabilities while working on the role of the disabled Christy Brown in the biographical drama My Left Foot. The actor did not get out of the wheelchair even outside the set. As an award for his efforts, he received an Oscar for Best Actor. And for the sake of authenticity of his Hawkeye in The Last of the Mohicans, Daniel spent some time all alone in the Arizona desert, traveling, sleeping in the open and eating only the food that he managed to collect or shoot. And playing the sixteenth US President Abraham Lincoln, Day-Lewis insisted that everyone, including director Steven Spielberg, always refer to him as "Mr. President", completely forgetting who he really is. Daniel also avoided talking to the British who participated in the filming in every possible way, so as not to stray into his native British accent. The actor got used to the character so successfully that he took home another Oscar statuette for the lead role in Lincoln.

Heath Ledger

The second person in the history of cinema after Peter Finch to receive an Oscar posthumously is Heath Ledger. For the role of the Joker in The Dark Knight, the actor prepared thoroughly. Ledger sat in a hotel room for a month, creating a diary for the Joker to keep. He pasted clippings from comics with Batman, scenes from Stanley Kubrick's movie "A Clockwork Orange", playing cards and drawn clowns into his notebook, wrote various crazy phrases. During this month and later during filming, the actor slept for two hours a day, deliberately bringing himself to exhaustion and a state of indifferent detachment. Heath betrayed the speech of his character of great importance and persistently honed the characteristic manner of communication of the Joker.

Robert DeNiro

Robert De Niro lived in Sicily for several months to prepare for his role in The Godfather.

Robert De Niro lived in Sicily for several months to prepare for his role in The Godfather, studying the local dialect and absorbing the cultural characteristics of the inhabitants of the island. Later, while filming Bertolucci in Twentieth Century, the actor passed his license and in between filming flew from Rome to New York to practice driving in his hometown for his role in Taxi Driver.

Hilary Swank

The only girl on our list, the real "million dollar baby", Hilary Swank. The actress came to the casting of the film "Boys Don't Cry" in her husband's clothes, wearing a cowboy hat. Preparing for the role of a girl who, from birth, felt and behaved like a guy, Swank cut her hair short, constantly tried to speak in a low voice, tied her chest with a bandage and put a rolled up sock in her panties. And all neighbors and friends began to introduce herself as James, borrowing the name from her brother. The result of this global transformation was her first Oscar for Best Actress.

Adrien Brody

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Adrien Brody has repeatedly admitted that, as long as he can remember, he always dreamed of becoming an actor. And from childhood he was distinguished by his unbridled imagination: he tried to use any experience he gained in the game. Apparently, when it came time to act in "The Pianist", the necessary experience was not in the piggy bank. Adrien decided to completely leave his usual comfort zone: he stopped communicating with his beloved, changed his place of residence and gave up most of his property, including a car. He practiced playing the piano for at least four hours a day, and by the start of filming he was able to fluently and convincingly play excerpts from Chopin. As a result, Brody played all the music scenes on his own. But the most difficult thing in working on the role of Vladislav Shpilman turned out to go through fasting. The actor decided to really starve himself for several weeks to realize how painful it was. For his suffering, Brody was awarded the coveted Oscar for Best Actor.

Christian Bale

Without this human transforming, the list would not be complete. For each of his roles, Christian Bale is ready to change beyond recognition. To become like the sleep deprived "Machinist" Trevor Reznik, the actor lost 29 kg. After consulting a doctor, Bale began to eat one apple and a can of tuna a day. Director Brad Anderson did not demand such sacrifices from Christian, and his colleagues on the set begged him to stop. But Bale insisted on his own and did not listen to anyone. A few weeks after the completion of the project, the actor began preparations for the film "Batman Begins" by Nolan. He trained every day for three hours and by the beginning of the filming process he gained 45 kg, and in the process he put on another 18 kg. Perhaps that is why the powerful Batman needed as many as two assistants on the set to get into the bulky suit.