Vincent D'Onofrio holds the record for most weight ever gained for an acting role
Topics: Film and TV, Mark Wahlberg, Health
Ben Thompson
Featured Image Credit: Alamy/PictureLux / The Hollywood Archive / Collection Christophel
Topics: Film and TV, Mark Wahlberg, Health
Acting is a craft which allows people to become entirely different characters - but sometimes raw talent isn't enough for that transformation process.
Many actors have changed their bodies for a role, whether that be through packing on the pounds or slimming down.
But perhaps nobody has shown more commitment to their art than Vincent D'Onofrio, who put on a staggering amount of weight for his role in Full Metal Jacket.
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The 1987 film, directed by Stanley Kubrick, follows US marines being put through their paces during boot camp training.
D'Onofrio plays the role of Private Leonard ‘Gomer Pyle’ Lawrence, an overweight and awkward member of the platoon.
Kubrick had found it tricky to cast an actor in this role, but eventually found the perfect fit with D'Onofrio, then a relatively unknown actor.
For the role, D'Onofrio was required to put on a substantial amount of weight - 70lb to be precise - leaving him weighing 20 stone.
No actor has ever beaten him, meaning the star holds the world record for the most weight gained for a film role.
This weight gain didn't come without consequences, though, as it left the actor with torn ligaments in his legs.
After filming wrapped, D'Onofrio lost the weight and returned to his normal weight of 15 stone, but it took him nine months to do so.
Although they may not have beaten his record, other actors have undergone massive changes in their weight for the sake of a performance.
Renée Zellweger is perhaps best known for playing hapless singleton Bridget Jones, who is constantly examining her bathroom scales - but she needed to put on two stone to play the role.
Talking of the third movie, in which Bridget gets pregnant, Zellweger said: "I put on a few pounds. I also put on some breasts and a baby bump.
"Bridget is a perfectly normal weight and I've never understood why it matters so much. No male actor would get such scrutiny if he did the same thing for a role."
Mark Wahlberg also underwent a noticeable transformation when he took on the role of a boxer turned priest in Father Stu.
Wahlberg, known for his devotion to the gym, put his devotion to the role first as he gorged himself on 7,000 calories a day, which included a dozen eggs, steak, a half roast chicken and a 'nightcap' consisting of oatmeal, apple sauce, jam, almond butter and molasses before bed.
On the opposite end of the scale, Mila Kunis dropped weight when she took on the part of a heroin addict.
Kunis lost a stone to play the role in the 2020 film Four Good Days.
As somebody who's never been on a diet before, I think I made the right call sticking with journalism.