Actors who went to extreme lengths for movie roles

Undergoing some preparation before committing to a role is quite normal for actors, but some go to great lengths to fully become the characters they are trying to portray.

Here are a few actors who went to extreme lengths for movie roles.

Leonardo DiCaprio

While filming ‘Django Unchained’, Leonardo DiCaprio slammed his hand on the table with enough force to break glass. A few shards managed to cut his hand, but that didn’t stop his performance.

“Blood was dripping down his hand,” said producer Stacy Sher to Variety. “He never broke character. He kept going. He was in such a zone. It was very intense. He required stitches.”

Anne Hathaway

Anne Hathaway lost 25 pounds by eating only dried oatmeal paste for two weeks for her role as Fantine in ‘Les Misérables’.

“I had to be obsessive about it – the idea was to look near death,” Hathaway told Vogue. “Looking back on the whole experience – and I don’t judge it in any way – it was definitely a little nuts.

“It was definitely a break with reality, but I think that’s who [my character] Fantine is anyway.”

Jim Carrey

To prepare for his role as Andy Kaufman in ‘Man on the Moon’, Jim Carrey would reportedly stay in character even when the cameras weren’t rolling.

“It was psychotic at times,” Carrey told The Hollywood Reporter. “Jim Carrey didn’t exist at that time.”

Jared Leto

While playing the Joker in ‘Suicide Squad’, Jared Leto attempted to conjure up the Joker’s outrageous energy even off-camera. He sent his co-star, Margot Robbie, a rat in a box while his remaining co-stars received other bizarre gifts.

“I did a lot of things to create a dynamic,to create an element of surprise, of spontaneity, and to really break down any kind of walls that may be there,“ Leto told E!.

“The Joker is somebody who doesn’t really respect things like personal space or boundaries.”

Shia LaBeouf

When portraying the titular role in ‘The Necessary Death of Charlie Countryman’, Shia LaBeouf took acid to better understand its effects on a person.

“There’s a way to do an acid trip like ‘Harold & Kumar’, and there’s a way to be on acid. What I know of acting, Sean Penn actually strapped up to that chair in ‘Dead Man Walking’,” LaBeouf told USA Today.

“These are the guys that I look up to.”