Christian Bale once embodied the metrosexual physical ideal in American Psycho. Eighteen years later in Vice he'll play the polar opposite: a middle-aged Dick Cheney. It's just the latest chameleon-like transformation in the actor's varied career—and he's not alone. Take Tilda Swinton, for example. Her breakthrough role in 1992's Orlando mandated that she play both gender in the same movie, and the actress's transformations haven't slowed down since (heck, she'll even transform herself multiple times for the sake of a fashion photoshoot, and in Suspiria, by all accounts, she'll play an 80-something man in one of her roles (or at least we assume, the details are still shrouded in mystery). The pair may represent the extremes, but they're far from the only Hollywood stars who have physically transformed themselves on screens for the sake of a role. Show business is notoriously tough, so who's going to let a couple hours each morning in the makeup chair or a couple months (or more) of intense diet and exercise get in the role of a potentially career changing (and award winning) role. Here, some of the most memorably onscreen transformations from the past two decades.
Christian Bale is no stranger to shapeshifting for a role. Famously he transformed himself from an underweight wisp for his role in The Mechanist and then into superhero shape for Batman Begins in a matter of months (thanks to Hollywood trainers and muscle memory, no doubt). For his latest transformation he's turned himself into an older man to play Dick Cheney in the upcoming Vice.
Coming to fame as a poster child for modern Hollywood glamour, Charlize Theron gained weight and did away with every ounce of glamour in her body to play her gritty role in Monster (2003,) for which she won an Oscar.
Having already used prosthetics to age herself up for The Grand Budapest Hotel, Tilda Swinton wears prosthetics again and switches gender in the upcoming Suspiria. Or at least that's what everyone assumes. The part is actually being credited to the name "Lutz Ebersdorf."
Matt Damon ran 13 miles a day and only ate chicken breast to lose weight of his role in Courage Under Fire, which proved to be his first major breakthrough role as an actor before Good Will Hunting.
Mariah Carey, the portrait of pop diva glamour, allowed herself to go through a drastic make under for her critically acclaimed role as a social worker in Precious.
Haley Berry wore prosthetics for her her multiple roles in the Wachowski sisters' 2012 film Cloud Atlas. Here she plays a 1930s English socialite.
Dramatic transformations are far more common in comedy (and, looking back, often problematically so), but Tom Cruise's transformation as power hungry agent Les Grossman in Tropic Thunder is still a standout in his long career ten years later.
Already lithe, Natalie Portman lost weight and got herself into dancer shape in preparation for her Oscar-winning role as a psychologically tortured ballerina in Black Swan.
Perhaps the role that started all those joke that all an actress needs to do is "uglify" herself to win an Oscar, Nicole Kidman wore a prosthetic nose for her role as poet Virginia Woolf in The Hours. Sixteen years later we think we can all agree that it was Kidman's acting skill that won her the accolades, and not the nose.
Having just been in beefcake shape a few years before for Prince of Persia, Jake Gyllenhaal lost 20 pounds for his role as an unethical freelance photographer Nightcrawler.
A decorated multi-sport child athlete (she once competed in the Junior Olympics) Hilary Swank still had to gain 20 pounds of muscle for her role in Million Dollar Baby (2004).
Once regarded as just a Hollywood beefcake, Matthew McConaughey lost 47 pounds for his role in Dallas Buyers Club and ultimately won an Oscar for the performance.
Everyone remembers that the album art for 50 Cent's major label debut record Get Rich or Die Tryin' could have doubled as a Men's Health cover, but the rapper dropped fifty pounds for his role in All Things Fall Apart.
Renee Zellweger gained weight, added padding and even mastered a British accent for her role as a depressed everywoman in Bridget Jones's Diary (in the sequels she relied more on the padding than going through the full transformation again).
Tom Hanks lost major weight and grew his beard and hair out for his role as a man stuck on a deserted island in Cast Away.
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