5 Actors Who Took Extreme Health-Related Measures To Prepare For Their(Photo Credit –Instagram)
With hawk-eyed social media users dissecting every aspect of celebrities, the pressure to maintain a flawless appearance is becoming increasingly intense in Hollywood. In the era of online scrutiny and viral close-ups, many stars have turned to cosmetic surgery and other treatments in the hope of maintaining their youthful image forever. While some transformations have been admired by fans, others have quickly become a topic of debate over the dangers of beauty treatments. For instance, according to People, reality TV star Kris Jenner’s Botox work became the talk of the town last year, making her look flawless. On the other hand, stars like Courteney Cox and John Travolta have been widely discussed for their botox job gone wrong.
In addition to treatments, celebrities often follow extreme diets and workout routines, primarily for their on-screen roles. However, Kim Kardashian is an exception who does the same in real life to maintain her health. The popular reality TV star recently revealed she takes close to 35 supplements daily to maintain her health and appearance, according to People. This isn’t the first time that a celebrity has made news for their intense measures to achieve a certain appearance. Many have done so to prepare for their roles on-screen.
Here’s a look at 5 celebrities who endured extreme health-related measures to prepare for their on-screen characters:
1. Anne Hathaway
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The actress shed 25 pounds for her role as Fantine in Les Misérables. Since her character was a prostitute dying of tuberculosis, it was necessary for Anne to look frail and weak. As reported by Vogue, the actress consumed less than 500 calories a day. Anne went on a cleanse before filming and lost around 10 pounds. She lost another 15 pounds by surviving on two thin squares of dried oatmeal paste daily! Whoa, talk about committing to the work, right? “I had to be obsessive about it—the idea was to look near death,” said the actress.
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2. Zac Effron
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With a film like Baywatch, one is expected to look uber-ripped, and that was exactly the case with Zac Efron’s character, Matt. While he looked super fit and muscular, the effort put in came at the cost of Zac’s physical and mental health. In an interview with Men’s Health, Zac confessed that the preparation took a heavy toll on him.
“I started to develop insomnia, and I fell into a pretty bad depression for a long time. Something about that experience burned me out. I had a really hard time recentering. Ultimately, they chalked it up to taking way too many diuretics for way too long, and it messed something up,” revealed the actor.
Zac would wake up at 4:00 am every day to do his extensive workout routine, and he also relied on powerful diuretics to look lean. Also known as “water pills,” diuretics are medications that help your kidneys flush excess salt and water from your body through urine. An excess of these can cause side effects such as dizziness, dehydration, weakness, etc.
3. Christian Bale
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In addition to Christian Bale’s remarkable performance in The Machinist, what got people talking was the extremely frail form he sported in the film. As reported by Men’s Health, the actor lost 25 kg in just four months! Christian reportedly went on an extreme calorie-sparse diet for his character as the deeply troubled factory worker Reznik.
During pre-production, the actor survived four months on black coffee, one apple, and a tin of tuna daily! With this diet amounting to less than 200 calories daily, it can cause serious harm to the body, and Christian is aligned. In an interview with E News, the actor confessed that he is avoiding roles that require him to undergo drastic body transformations. “I’ve become a little bit more boring now, because I’m older, and I feel like if I keep doing what I’ve done in the past, I’m going to die. So, I’d prefer not to die,” said Christian.
4. Beyoncé
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For her role in Dreamgirls, Beyoncé lost 20 pounds in two weeks by subscribing to something called a “cleanse diet.” This includes avoiding solid foods for some time and drinking only a concoction of lemon juice, cayenne pepper, and maple syrup! This cleanse has been widely criticized, and Beyoncé didn’t enjoy it either. During an interview with Ellen DeGeneres, the pop sensation confessed, “I was very hungry; therefore, I was evil.”
5. Mila Kunis
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While Natalie Portman went on an extreme diet for her role as protagonist Nina, a ballet dancer, in Black Swan, her co-star Mila Kunis, who played her on-screen rival Lily in the film, followed the same route.
In an interview with SiriusXM Show (via ET online), the actress confessed that she survived on 1,200 calories a day and smoked a lot. “I never watched what I ate [before]… And I’ll tell you this—I’m not promoting this at all—but I used to be a smoker, and so I smoked a lot of cigarettes, and I ate a limited amount of calories,” she said, adding, “I don’t recommend anybody ever doing it. I don’t advocate this at all.”
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The post After Kim Kardashian’s 35-Pill-A-Day Reveal, 5 Actors Who Took Extreme Health Risks For Roles-From Anne Hathaway To Mila Kunis appeared first on Koimoi.
