Matthew McConaughey And Others Who Shed The Pounds For Movie Roles

Losing or gaining more than 20 pounds is a huge deal for most people. Not for the celebrities though! Those guys drop and put back on weight for roles in the blink of an eye. Most recently, Matthew Mcconaughey who is renowned for his hulky physique, lost 3 and a half stone to play Ron Woodruff in six time Oscar nominated movie, The Dallas Buyers Club. The movie, which is set in the 80’s amid the initial HIV epidemic, sees Matthew’s character diagnosed with AIDS. Matthew has already won a Golden Globe for his performance and is also up for the Best Actor Oscar.

The usually minuscule Renee Zellweger piled on a few pounds when she played everybody’s sweetheart, Bridget Jones. Bridget just wouldn’t have been Bridget without having a few extra pounds to spare! Renee slimmed down before having to regain the weight all over again to play Bridget in Bridget Jones 2: The Edge of Reason. Women around the world regularly lament that Renee hasn’t won the Oscar for Best Actress for playing Bridget Jones every consecutive year since the film first came out. Fortunately, two years later she won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress in Cold Mountain, so she probably doesn't feel too hard doneby.

While the stars seem willing to lose and gain weight for roles (and more importantly, for Oscars), Tom Hanks’ recent diagnosis with diabetes has been a warning sign that stuffing and staving yourself for a part does have it’s long term consequences!