- Catherine Maborukoje
- Actors that took risks for their roles, Nollywood
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From gaining and losing massive amounts of weight to learning new skills and facing their fears, some actors go to great lengths to bring their characters to life.
The art of acting requires dedication and passion to deliver captivating performances. Actors and actresses use their creativity to push the boundaries of their craft, bringing characters to life and immersing audiences in their stories. Actors interpret scripts and embody roles, internalizing their characters’ essence to deliver authentic performances.
To perfect their craft, actors spend countless hours researching their roles, studying their characters’ backgrounds, and immersing themselves in the world of the story. They take classes, attend workshops, and rehearse their lines until they become second nature. However, some roles require actors to go above and beyond, pushing themselves to the brink of exhaustion and beyond. These roles can be physically and emotionally demanding, requiring actors to undergo extensive training, adopt extreme diets, and even put themselves in harm’s way. From gaining and losing massive amounts of weight to learning new skills and facing their fears, some actors go to great lengths to bring their characters to life.
This article explores some of the extreme examples of actors who have gone too far for a movie role.
Michael B. Jordan as Killmonger
Michael B. Jordan is another unconventional actor who went to great lengths for the role of Killmonger in “Black Panther,” in order for him to deeply plunge himself into the persona’s emotional complexity and traumatic experiences. Jordan revealed that he avoided his family and interactions with children during the entire production of the film and isolated himself to channel the pain, frustration, and loneliness that a “Killmonger” in the movie embodies. This isolation took a toll on Jordan, leading him to undertake a mandatory therapy after the film’s release to get familiar with love and care, which he was then, novel to him.
Heath Ledger as Joker
Heath Ledger went to unconventional lengths for his role as the Joker in “The Dark Knight.” He isolated himself in a hotel room for a month, maintaining a diary and experimenting with voices to prepare for the character. Ledger also submerged himself into the character’s psyche by reading relevant comic books and meditating on the role, aiming to find an iconic voice and laugh that would embody the Joker’s sociopathic nature. Ledger’s commitment to the role led him to endure physical and mental exhaustion, struggling with insomnia and only managing around two hours of sleep on certain days during filming. Ledger’s dedication even extended to his interactions with co-stars, as he insisted on genuine physical contact during intense scenes, going as far as throwing himself against walls to make the contact look authentic.
Nicholas Cage as Birdy
Nicholas Cage had two of his front baby teeth pulled without anesthesia for the role of Birdy in the 1985 movie Birdy. This decision was made to add an interesting dimension to the character, as Cage believed it would help him better adapt to the facial trauma his character experienced. The movie was not a huge commercial success, but it did help establish Cage’s reputation for risk-taking and earned him the grand jury prize at Cannes.
Jamie Foxx as Ray
Jamie Foxx went to great lengths for his role as Ray Charles in the movie “Ray.” Foxx adopted the Method acting approach, spending the first four weeks of shooting in complete darkness to simulate Charles’ blindness. He wore prosthetics modeled on Charles’ actual eyes to enhance the authenticity of his performance.
Halle Berry as Vivian
Halle Berry fought for the role of Vivian, a crack-addicted young adult trying to score her next fix in Jungle Fever by advocating for herself and expressing her interest in the part to Spike Lee, the director. She saw the potential in the character and believed she could bring something unique to the role. Berry’s dedication to her craft and her ability to portray complex characters were recognised by Lee, who eventually cast her in the film.
Gary Oldman as Winston Churchill
Gary Oldman, in his portrayal of Winston Churchill in the 2017 film Darkest Hour, underwent a significant transformation to embody the character. The film focuses on Churchill’s early days as Prime Minister during the Second World War and the May 1940 war cabinet crisis, where he refused to seek a peace treaty with Nazi Germany amid their advance into Western Europe.
Oldman’s preparation for the role included extensive research, such as reading biographies, studying film footage, visiting Churchill’s home at Blenheim Palace, and speaking to Churchill’s family members. To physically resemble Churchill, Oldman underwent a 4-hour daily makeup process that involved applying a prosthetic cast mold of silicone rubber onto his face and a foam bodysuit to add extra weight to his frame. He also had his head completely shaved for the wig and hairpieces.
Tom Cruise as Ethan Hunt
Tom Cruise went to great lengths for his role in “Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol.” He performed the sequence where Ethan Hunt scales the outside of the Burj Khalifa tower himself without the use of a stunt double. The Burj Khalifa tower is the tallest building in the world at 2,722 feet, and Cruise dangled outside the tower at approximately 1,700 feet. This daring stunt added a high level of authenticity to the film and showcased Cruise’s dedication to his craft.
Sylvester Stallone as Rocky Balboa
For the role of Rocky Balboa in Rocky IV, Sylvester Stallone went through a grueling experience. During the climactic fight scene with Dolph Lundgren, who played Ivan Drago, Stallone instructed Lundgren to ignore the choreography to make the scene more brutal and realistic. This decision nearly cost Stallone his life, as Lundgren, a 4th dan black belt in Kyokushin karate, followed the instructions exactly. Stallone was rushed to the intensive care unit of the Saint John’s Regional Medical Center in Canada, where he spent nine days. Doctors feared that his blood pressure, which had reached 260, could lead to a conversation with angels.
Forest Whitaker as Idi Amin
Forest Whitaker went to great lengths to prepare for his role as Idi Amin in the movie “The Last King of Scotland”. He spent months researching and understanding the character, even going as far as teaching himself Swahili and learning to play the accordion, both of which were hobbies of the real-life dictator. Additionally, Whitaker traveled to Uganda to interview former generals and relatives of Amin, immersing himself in the culture and history of the country and the man he would portray. Whitaker also transformed in terms of his physicality and demeanor to accurately portray the character of Idi Amin, who was a larger-than-life figure known for his imposing presence and charisma
50 Cents as Deon
In the movie “Things Fall Apart,” 50 Cent plays a football player diagnosed with cancer and loses, dropping from 214 pounds to an astonishing 160 pounds with a liquid diet and three-hour-a-day exercise. This extreme weight loss was part of his preparation to accurately portray the physical and emotional struggles of his character, Deon, who is based on a childhood friend of the rapper who died of cancer.
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