For his role as Dom Hemingway, Jude Law gained 13kg by drinking 10 bottles of Coca-Cola a day and grew out his facial hair. To mark the release of the highly anticipated movie, we are taking a look at other actors who have undergone big transformations for their art.
Christian Bale – The Machinist
Originally weighting 185 pounds, standing 6’ tall, Christian Bale submersed himself in his insomniac character in the Machinist, by losing 63 pounds (28 Kilograms). Bale eliminated almost all foods and exercise for more than 4 months before filming, reportedly living on a cup of coffee and an apple a day.
Renee Zellweger – Bridget Jones’s Diary
To play the thirty something year old Bridget Jones, Renee Zellwegar gained thirty pounds. She packed on the pounds by not exercising and embarked on a 4,000 calorie-a-day diet eating high- calorie, high-fat foods such as doughnuts and cheese pizza. Zellwegar once again had to gain weight for the sequel, Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason.
Gerard Butler – 300
To become a fearless Spartan king, Gerard Butler trained harder than most pro-athletes for four months straight. Training with Mark Twight, a former world-class mountain climber and Franco LiCastro, a Venezuelan bodybuilder as well as doing his own sword-and-shield works out for hours on end, he acquired the body of a Greek God. There are now multiple “300” styled workouts for those hoping to get the “Spartan look”.
Charlize Theron – Monster
Probably one of the most amazing transformation in Hollywood. Not only did Charlize Theron shave off her eyebrows, acquire prosthetic teeth and apply lots of blotchy makeup, the former model gained 30 pounds to portray serial killer Aileen Wuornos in Monster. Theron began her diet by eating vast amounts of Krispy Kreme doughnuts. After she was tired of those, she turned to potato chips, always having a bag with her wherever she went. The beautiful model completely transformed into an unrecognizable psychopath. Theron returned to her normal weight even before the film’s premiere and won an Oscar for her performance.
Jude Law – Dom Hemingway
Jude Law is almost unrecognisable as East London crook Dom Hemingway, after piling on the pounds, Jude was transformed with the help of prosthetic devices and makeup, created by Wakana Yoshihara and Chris Lyons, to give him a broken nose and scars. A device similar to a baby bottle teat was inserted into one side of Jude’s nostrils to push it up, effectively partly collapsing the other – the broken nose look was Jude’s idea according to the production team – now that’s dedication.
The film tells the story of lovable crook and safecracker of the same name trying to get his life back after doing 12 years in prison rather than taking a deal and giving up his pay master.
A lot has changed since Dom went in, his wife’s died of cancer, his daughter’s grown up and started a family and you can’t smoke in pubs (to Dom’s dismay). Dom also has a painful way of cocking EVERYTHING up, so there are some serious hand in head moments. If you can ignore the shameless attemptsthat director Richard Shepard makes to appeal to an American audience – hand-holding act transition titles, a randomly appearing American fairy godmother character and Bond-esque atmospheric music – you will empathise with Dom and his plight and revel in his almost boyish charm and rebellion.
The film shines best when it’s at it’s grittiest, at it’s most stripped back, and at it’s core deals with some serious issues that many will be able to relate to; father-daughter dynamics, the changing face of modern Britain and unbreakable friendships. We only wish there was more of that and less of the American-appeasing guff.
Dom Hemingway is out in the UK from the 15th of November.
