Which actor gained the most weight for a single movie role?
The acting profession requires a lot of those going in search of its glories. Naturally, in order to succeed, there must be at least an inkling of talent, an ability to memorise lines and even a few good angles of the face can’t hurt. But, quite often, there’s also a physical expectation of actors that should not be ignored.
After all, actors move from role to role quickly throughout their careers, and the characters they play might starkly differ in physical attributes. As such, sometimes enormous effort is required from a given actor to either gain or lose weight in a short period of time, which can be an incredible strain on the body.
Christian Bale is well known for his remarkable efforts when it comes to altering the way his body looks for a given role. We’ve seen him thin to the point of breaking in The Machinist, ripped and bulky for The Dark Knight and even bloated for his portrayal of former US Vice President Dick Cheney in the political black comedy Vice.
While Bale’s efforts are indeed impressive, he’s not the actor who has gained the most weight for just one role because that title goes to Vincent D’Onofrio, who put on a remarkable amount of weight for his role as Private Leonard ‘Gomer Pyle’ Lawrence in the 1987 Stanley Kubrick Vietnam War movie Full Metal Jacket.
The film opens with future US Marines being put through a gruelling and harsh boot camp training course. Pyle is an overweight young man who’s called out and bullied by his drill instructor, Gunnery Sergeant Hartman, for being fat and lazy. To get into the role, D’Onofrio had to put on 70lbs to make weight, which remains the most amount of weight an actor has ever put on for a single role.
However, the weight gain came with some problems, as D’Onofrio was left with torn ligaments in his leg. After the production of Full Metal Jacket was completed, D’Onofrio started to return to his original weight, but it was nine months until he was able to get back down where he came from.
There have been several actors who’ve had to consult the burgers and doughnuts in order to prepare for a role as a bigger person, but D’Onofrio took the commitment to new heights, eclipsing the kind of efforts that Christian Bale, Tom Hardy and the like would make in the proceeding years.
