Bradley Cooper left film fans open-mouthed when they got their first glimpse of the actor in the upcoming Maestro film, with a transformation that left him unrecognisable
But he isn’t the first star to undergo a dramatic change to his appearance for the sake of a role.
Here’s our round-up of the most incredible transformations to ever grace the big screen...
Colin Farrell
Colin appeared as Oswald Cobblepot – otherwise known as the classic comic book villain The Penguin – in The Batman. The Irish star looked unrecognisable in heavy prosthetics on the set of the blockbuster in Liverpool.
Charlize Theron
Who knew makeup could turn one of Hollywood’s most beautiful people into someone so unrecognisable? When Charlize appeared on screen as serial killer Aileen Wuornos in Monster, we couldn’t believe our eyes. She went on to win the Oscar for Best Actress, an accolade we think was well deserved.
Jared Leto
Jared lost a ton of weight and bleached off his eyebrows to play the role of transgender AIDS sufferer Rayon in 2014′s Dallas Buyers Club. The role won the actor/singer a Golden Globe, as well as an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor.
Jared Leto (again)
Dallas Buyers Club wasn’t the first time Jared Leto went on a drastic diet for a film role. But back in 2007 he piled the weight ON to play John Lennon’s assassin Mark Chapman in Chapter 27.
Jared Leto (AGAIN)
In House Of Gucci, Jared played Paolo Gucci, the former vice president and managing director of the fashion house Gucci – and once again, his transformation was dramatic to say the least, wearing heavy facial prosthetics and sporting a receding hairline.
Matthew McConaughey
It wasn’t just Jared Leto who underwent a radical transformation for Dallas Buyers Club. Matthew McConaughey lost almost a quarter of his own body weight to play AIDS sufferer Ron Woodfroof, which he won an Oscar for. Despite admitting a loss of sex drive and occasional irritability while he was dieting, the actor also claimed the calorie restriction led to increased mental agility: “What I lost down there, I gained up here,” he said at the time.
Mariah Carey
Mariah played a social worker in Precious, which was an awards season favourite following its release in 2010. And it’s not every day you see the diva totally made-under.
50 Cent
The US rapper lost more than 50 pounds after liquid dieting and running on a treadmill three hours a day to play a celebrated football player battling cancer in 2011′s All Things Fall Apart.
Glenn Close
Glenn Close played a woman posing as a man in 2011′s Albert Nobbs. The actress truly disappeared into the role and earned herself a Best Supporting Actress nomination. Unfortunately, she didn’t take home the award, but she was up against some stiff competition (i.e. Meryl Streep).
Christian Bale
If there’s one actor in Hollywood who can be described as a chameleon, it’s Christian Bale. Whether he’s losing weight for his roles in The Machinist (below) and The Fighter, sporting a beer-belly and a comb-over in American Hustle, or bulking up and wearing prosthetics to play former U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney in Vice (below), Christian disappears into every role he signs up for.
Meryl Streep
Meryl has been nominated more than any actor ever for both the Oscars and the Golden Globes so we’re used to seeing her take on a variety of roles. In 2011, she transformed into ‘The Iron Lady’ herself, Margaret Thatcher, and gave another Oscar-winning performance.
Matthew Fox
The Lost star shed 40 pounds to play Picasso, a professional assassin who participates in an underground ultimate-fighting ring, in 2012′s Alex Cross. Speaking about his weight-loss regime, the actor said: “It was circuit training until I wanted to puke.”
Nicole Kidman
After being fitted with a prosthetic nose for her lead role in 2002′s The Hours, Nicole Kidman managed to go largely unnoticed by the paparazzi, which was handy as she was going through a divorce from Tom Cruise at the time.
Tom Cruise
Speaking of Tom, the actor was a sight to behold as fat, balding Les Grossman in Tropic Thunder. And fair play to the usually impeccably turned out and (let’s face it) uber handsome star for agreeing to send himself up on screen.
Gwyneth Paltrow
Gwyneth is yet another actress who won an Oscar for a role in which her character posed as a male. Gwynnie jumped back and forth between male and female throughout Shakespeare In Love, which added to the impressive role, but it was the moustache that sold it for us.
Jake Gyllenhaal
It took the American actor five months of intense diet and training to bulk up to play boxing champ Billy Hope in 2015′s Southpaw. This is all the more impressive as it came straight after Jake underwent dramatic weight loss to star in Nightcrawler.
Hilary Swank
Hilary transformed into Brandon Teena, the real-life transgender man the film was about, and won the Best Actress statue for her moving portrayal.
Rooney Mara
Rooney’s turn as Lisbeth Salander in David Fincher’s The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo was definitely a career booster for the young actress. It was her first major role and it landed her an Oscar nom for Best Actress. Once she chopped her hair, dyed it black, bleached her brows, and got some new piercings, it was hard not to notice Rooney.
Melissa Leo
When Melissa Leo appeared in The Fighter she looked like a completely different person - that over-bleached and puffy hair really made her character. The actress won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress and was so surprised that she dropped the F-bomb during her acceptance speech.
Bradley Cooper
Bradley was seen sporting grey hair and appearing to wear prosthetics as conductor and composer Leonard Bernstein in the forthcoming Netflix biopic Maestro. The A Star Is Born actor plays the lead role as the musician behind works such as West Side Story, as the film tells the complex love story between Bernstein and Felicia Cohn Montealegre.
