Matthew McConaughey Goes Bald – Plus Other Stars That Have Transformed For Film Roles

Matthew McConaughey As You've NEVER Seen Him Before

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by Lauren Smith |
Published on

This, Grazia readers, is Matthew McConaughey as you've NEVER seen him before. Now while Matthew looking anything-other-than-buff shouldn't be too much of a shock since he dramatically slimmed down for his Oscar-winning role in Dallas Buyer's Club, these photos of McConaughey with a receding hairline, a bit of a paunch and a fifty-a-day habit haven't got us saying "Alright alright alright". At all.

But it's not a new look for the Hollwood star, he's simply in character and filming scenes for his new movie Gold in New York City. Gold tells the story of Kenny Wells, a struggling businessman who tries to get back on his feet - and winds up in the Indonesian jungle searching for his fortune (yep).

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Rex Features

Matthew has spoken previously about how he doesn't mind dropping or losing weight for a film role, revealing "I just go with whatever the role I'm playing needs".

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But he's not the only actor taking it to extremes to get in character. See other stars that dramatically changed their physique for a role.

1. Jake Gyllenhaal

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Jake lost 25 pounds and looked eerily gaunt for his role in the film Nightcrawler, and then bulked up massively for boxing film *Southpaw. *

2. Charlize Theron

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Charlize Theron won an Academy Award and Golden Globe for her portrayal of serial killer Aileen Wuornoas in Monster. To put on 30 pounds for the role, she ate a lot of crisps.

3. Anne Hathaway

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Anne Hathaway lost 25 pounds for her role as Fantine in Les Miserables - existing on a truly miserable diet of slices of baked porridge and lettuce. She said that by the end she didn't think she could keep going "without collapsing" but "had to appear dead", and quickly returned to a healthy diet afterwards.

4. Chris Hemsworth

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From Norse God Thor to an ultra-slim look, Chris Hemsworth lost all his muscle for seafaring epic In The Heart Of The Sea.

5. Chris Pratt

Instagram

From cuddly Andy in Parks and Recreation, to a muscle-bound hunk, Chris Pratt lost a whopping 80 pounds, and adopted a strict paleo-style diet to get in shape for Guardians of the Galaxy.

6. Renee Zellweger

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One of the most highly-publicised weight gains for a film role was Renee Zellweger's for Bridget Jones Diary. She put on 30 pounds to play the famous role.

7. Jared Leto

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Jared Leto gained 67 pounds for his role as Mark Chapman, the fan who assasinated John Lennon for 2007 biopic* Chapter 7*. The diet he put himself on gave him gout.

8. Natalie Portman

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Natalie Portman famously lost 20 pounds in order to have a ballerina-like physique for the movie Black Swan. She trained for five hours a day, seven hours a week.

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