Extreme examples of actor preparation for roles

While being a world famous actor or actress certainly seems like a glamorous affair – and it no doubt is for those who achieve such success – it's sometimes easy to forget some of the hard work that the most renowned thespians actually put into their craft. After all, many spend years toiling away, gaining only bit-parts in small films before landing their "big break".
That aside, it's also easy forget to just how hard it is to actually convince an audience that the character they're watching on screen is an actual person, and not just an actor or actress performing a role. Needless to say, the most successful big-screen stars have mastered the art of doing this, but have you ever stopped to think just how much hard work, determination and personal sacrifice goes into such a performance? Over the years, there have been a few instances where actors have really gone beyond the realms of what could be considered "normal" in order to portray a character convincingly.
These days, Christian Bale is one of the most recognisable faces in Hollywood, as the brooding, muscle-bound star of hits like The Dark Knight and Terminator: Salvation. However, it's his portrayal of paranoid insomniac Trevor Reznik in 2004's The Machinist that often wins him the most critical praise – not least because of the dramatic weight loss that Bale went through in order to be able to play the part convincingly. The normally burly star managed to get his weight down to just 110 pounds before filming the movie – and the only reason he didn't lose any more weight is because the crew working on the film were worried it would lead to health problems for him. Shockingly, the film's director, Brad Anderson, had never asked Bale to lose so much weight for the role, but admitted being pleasantly surprised at his dedication.
At the completely opposite end of the scale, Robert De Niro's commitment to his portrayal of troubled boxer Jake LaMotta in 1980's Raging Bull saw the usually lean star gain enough weight to be able to realistically portray a heavyweight fighter. At one point, the film's director, Martin Scorsese, became so concerned for De Niro's health that he actually shut down production completely. However, filming eventually continued, and De Niro's persistence and dedication lead to him winning the Best Actor Oscar at the 1981 Academy Awards. Similarly, Mickey Rourke has also been commended to the physical lengths that he went to in order to realistically portray Randy "The Ram" Robinson in 2008's The Wrestler.
However, it's not just the guys who have went above and beyond in the name of realism. Both Natalie Portman and Mila Kunis spent hundreds of hours in dance classes in order to be able to portray ballet dancers in the recent hit Black Swan. Portman in particular threw herself into her role, actually sustaining a broken rib during the filming of one particular dance sequence, with production having to be halted for six weeks as a result. Again, Portman's dedication paid off, and the interest in the film gained from her recent Best Actress award at the Oscars should mean that even those that missed her performance at the cinema will be itching to get their hands on the Black Swan DVD so they can see her acclaimed performance firsthand.

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