Seven dramatic movie star transformations

Jake Gyllenhaal has packed on a reported 14lb of pure muscle mass, rendering him almost unrecognisable, in order to play a championship fighter in the upcoming film Southpaw.

Christian Bale

The professional yo-yo dieter shed 63lb for his role in The Machinist in 2004. He bulked up to star as Batman the following year but shed the pounds again for The Fighter in 2010. In American Hustle last year he was decidedly plump.

Rooney Mara

For the film adaptation of Stieg Larsson’s Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, she got into character by shaving her head, bleaching her eyebrows and acquiring several facial piercings.

Jared Leto

The Oscar-winning actor suffered gout after piling on more than 56lb in 2007 to portray John Lennon’s killer Mark Chapman in Chapter 27. Along with co-star Matthew McConaughey, he appeared skeletal in last year’s Dallas Buyers Club.

John Hurt

In the 1980 film ElephantMan, he underwent a shocking physical transformation involving a complex arrangement of prosthetics to play a severely disfigured man.

Gwyneth Paltrow

The health food fanatic was unwilling to suffer for her art in Shallow Hal. Instead of bingeing on fatty food, she donned a fat suit for the 2001 film, despite its message ostensibly being about inner beauty.