Some actors just play roles, but others truly become their characters. It’s the latter who leave a lasting impression, with performances that are remembered for generations. When an actor fully immerses themselves in a role, it often involves a physical transformation—sometimes it’s subtle, and other times it’s dramatic.
To celebrate some of the most unforgettable transformations in movie history, we’ve created our first-ever Hollywood Fitness Hall of Fame.
Discover who made the list, and let their dedication inspire you to make your own Oscar-worthy changes.
1. Christian Bale
What He Did: Christian Bale dropped over 60 pounds, mostly by sticking to a diet of coffee and apples, to play an insomniac in The Machinist. After that, he needed to bulk up for his role as Batman. Bale trained intensely and ate his way from 120 pounds to 220 pounds. Ironically, director Christopher Nolan felt Bale had become too muscular for the role and asked him to lose 20 pounds again.
Why He Did It: Bale landed the lead role in Batman Begins, which started filming just five months after he wrapped up work on The Machinist.
What He Ate: Bale’s diet was based on a ratio of one part fat, two parts protein, and three parts carbs. As a vegetarian, he avoided typical protein sources like chicken and beef, opting instead for eggs, cottage cheese, and protein shakes. He ate every three hours throughout the day.
His Workout: Bale’s training focused on compound movements and power exercises like cleans, snatches, and squat jumps to help him be as explosive and agile as Batman. Here’s a sample of one of his workouts:
- Chin-Up Superset with Cable Row (4 sets of 10–12 reps each)
- Power Clean (4 sets of 12, 10, 8, 6 reps)
- Snatch-Grip High Pull (4 sets of 12, 10, 8, 6 reps)
Plus: Bale initially wanted to drop his weight to 100 pounds for The Machinist, but the producers refused, fearing it would be too dangerous.
Bale on His Role as Batman: “You just couldn’t pull it off unless you became a beast inside that suit.”
2. Michael B. Jordan
What He Did: Michael B. Jordan packed on muscle to portray Adonis Creed in Creed and the fierce villain Erik Killmonger in Black Panther. “I had to give everything I had to getting in shape and becoming Killmonger,” Jordan shared during a press event. He immersed himself in weapon training, gun training, and mixed martial arts. Being a fan of the comics growing up, Jordan felt a strong responsibility to do justice to Black Panther’s nemesis.
Why He Did It: Jordan got ripped for his roles in Creed, Creed II, and Black Panther.
His Workout: Jordan’s training varied between Creed and Black Panther, including boxing, mixed martial arts, weight training, and cardio. Here’s the regimen he used for Creed:
- Cardio: 45 to 60 minutes daily, including interval training, sprints, plyometric drills, and speed rope work.
- Abs: Every other day, 3 sets of 25 reps for each move: Crunches, Leg Raises, Reverse Crunches, Toe Touches, and Traditional Sit-Ups.
3. Daniel Craig
What He Did: To prepare for his career-defining role, Daniel Craig hit the gym five days a week to shed body fat and build muscle.
Why He Did It: Craig was cast as the iconic James Bond in 2006’s Casino Royale.
What He Ate: Craig ate up to six meals a day, cutting out carbs in the evenings. His diet focused on fish, eggs, chicken, fruits, and vegetables.
His Workout: His routine included weight training Monday through Friday, with cardio on the weekends. He started and ended the week with a circuit of pullups, squats, tricep dips, and pushups.
Plus: Craig quit smoking but allowed himself a drink on Fridays and Saturdays—likely martinis, shaken, not stirred.
Craig says: “I’ve got to look like I can kill somebody. If I take my shirt off, it’s not about having a nice body—it’s about making people think, ‘Oh, damn, he could really hurt someone.’”
4. Russell Crowe
What He Did: Russell Crowe lost 40 pounds to prepare for a role that would earn him an Oscar.
Why He Did It: Crowe needed to get into fighting shape to play the Roman general Maximus in Gladiator. This transformation was even more impressive since he had just gained 50 pounds to play Jeffrey Wigand, a former tobacco executive, in The Insider.
What He Ate: Crowe ate six to eight meals a day, focusing on lean protein, complex carbs, and healthy fats to keep his metabolism going. He included high-fiber fruits and vegetables to help control his appetite and aimed for one gram of protein per pound of body weight to build muscle.
His Workout: His training involved weight lifting, learning swordsmanship, and working on his farm in Australia.
Plus: During filming, Crowe suffered multiple injuries, including broken bones in his foot and hip, stitches on his face, and a loss of feeling in his right forefinger after a sword cut into it.
Crowe says: “I injured myself a lot on Gladiator.” But his performance truly echoes in eternity.
5. Robert Downey, Jr.
What He Did: Robert Downey Jr. put on 20 pounds of muscle, bringing him to 170 pounds at 5’8”.
Why He Did It: Iron Man director Jon Favreau wanted Downey to look like he had the strength to “forge iron.”
What He Ate: Downey followed a 3,500-calorie diet, eating up to eight times a day. His meals included steak, legumes, broccoli, and even skim chocolate milk for extra protein.
His Workout: Here’s a typical upper-body workout Downey did:
- Weighted Pullup (3 sets of 8–12 reps)
- Weighted Dip (3 sets of 8–12 reps)
- Swiss-Ball Bench Press (3 sets of 8–12 reps)
- Cable Row (3 sets of 8–12 reps)
- Continuous Tension Dumbbell Shoulder Press (3 sets of 8–12 reps)
- BOSU-Ball Pushup (3 sets of 15–20 reps)
- Suspension Pushup (3 sets to failure)
- Suspension Row (3 sets to failure)
- Lateral Raise (3 sets of 8–12 reps)
- Kettlebell Swing (3 sets of 40 reps)
- Sand Bag Throw (3 sets of 12–15 reps)
Plus: Downey needed to be more than just buff—his Iron Man suit weighed 90 pounds.
Downey says: “I prepared for the screen test [for Iron Man] so feverishly that I made it impossible for anyone else to do a better job.”
6. Robert De Niro
What He Did: At 48, De Niro cut his body fat down to an astonishing four percent.
Why He Did It: He needed to look convincing as the revenge-obsessed ex-con Max Cady in the 1991 film Cape Fear.
What He Ate: His trainer, Dan Harvey, put him on a high-carb diet to keep up with his intense workouts. De Niro’s diet was packed with whole grains, brown rice, and plenty of green veggies like spinach, lettuce, and broccoli.
His Workout: De Niro trained like his character would—relentlessly. He did endless reps of body-weight exercises like dips, chin-ups, and pushups. Rumor has it, he knocked out up to 600 crunches a day—and it showed in his abs.
Plus: De Niro was no stranger to transforming his body for a role. For Raging Bull in 1980, he trained with legendary boxer Jake La Motta, who believed De Niro could’ve gone pro. Later, to play La Motta in his later years, De Niro packed on 60 pounds during a four-month eating spree across Europe.
De Niro says: “You’ll have time to rest when you’re dead.”
7. Ryan Gosling
What He Did: The Notebook heartthrob turned his slim frame into the “photoshopped” physique that had actress Emma Stone (and millions of other women, including your girlfriend) swooning.
Why He Did It: Gosling bulked up for his role in Crazy, Stupid, Love in 2011.
What He Ate: Despite his sweet tooth, Gosling stuck to a strict diet of bananas and protein shakes.
His Workout: Gosling worked out for two hours, four to five days a week, focusing on his chest, shoulders, and core to achieve the ultimate “player” look.
Plus: For an upcoming role as a Muay Thai kickboxer, Gosling is sticking to a diet of fish, rice, and green veggies.
Gosling says: “After a while, they’re like pets because they [his muscles] don’t do anything useful. But you have to feed them and take care of them. Otherwise, they’ll go away.”
Also Read: Building a Bodybuilder Physique
8. Hugh Jackman
What He Did: Hugh Jackman’s physique has been on a rollercoaster since he first played Wolverine in 2000’s X-Men. For his latest role in The Wolverine this summer, he packed on the muscle, reaching 215 pounds—his biggest version of Wolverine yet.
Why He Did It: Director James Mangold wanted Wolverine to be bigger and more imposing than ever before, both to complement Jackman’s 6’2″ frame and to show that the character was back, stronger and tougher than ever.
What He Ate: Jackman consumed 6,000 calories a day, adjusting his carbs based on his training. On workout days, he ate more starches for energy, while on rest days, he cut back to help burn fat. He also upped his intake of healthy fats like avocados and nuts to keep his energy steady and avoid losing too many calories on low-carb days.
His Workout: To look superhuman, you need to get super strong. Jackman’s workout regimen had him deadlifting over 500 pounds for reps. Here’s an example of his lower-body routine:
- Deadlift (4 sets of 5, 4, 3, and 10 reps)
- Romanian Deadlift (4 sets of 10 reps)
- Zercher Squat (4 sets of 12 reps)
- Weighted Incline Situp (4 sets of 10 reps)
- Barbell Landmine (4 sets of 20 reps)
Plus: Funny enough, Jackman used to work in a gym before he became famous but never lifted weights back then.
Jackman says: “I landed the coolest comic book character there is. He’s badass, way cooler than me, and as an actor, his complexities, his tortured soul, make him endlessly interesting.”
9. Edward Norton
What He Did: Edward Norton packed on 30 pounds of muscle in just three months.
Why He Did It: Norton needed to look intimidating for his role as a white supremacist in 1998’s American History X.
What He Ate: Norton focused on protein, eating five meals a day and supplementing with protein shakes.
His Workout: Norton’s routine was all about compound lifts like squats and presses, done with no rest between sets. This non-stop approach helped him burn more calories and push his muscles to grow faster.
Plus: Rumor has it that Arnold Schwarzenegger was so impressed by Norton’s rapid muscle gains that he called to ask if Norton had used steroids.
Norton says: “I knew this character had to be physically fearsome, someone defined by rage… His body was the physical manifestation of all that anger and pain.”
10. Brad Pitt
What He Did: Brad Pitt got his body down to 155 pounds with just 6% body fat through intense training and a strict diet.
Why He Did It: He needed a fighter’s build to play the intense Tyler Durden in Fight Club (1999).
What He Ate: To get lean and strong, Pitt followed a high-protein diet with six small meals a day. He ate lots of eggs, tuna, chicken, fish, oatmeal, and vegetables.
His Workout: Pitt’s weekly routine was focused and varied: chest and back on Mondays, shoulders on Wednesdays, arms on Thursdays, and cardio on Fridays, with weekends off. He also trained in grappling, Tae Kwon Do, and boxing to make his fight scenes more authentic.
Plus: To look more like a seasoned fighter, Pitt had his dentist remove chips from his front teeth.
Pitt says: “I’m one of those people you hate because of genetics. It’s just the way it is.”