How Far is Actor Jared Leto Going With His Weight?
Actor Jared Leto starved himself for a month to play a transsexual woman battling AIDs in the drama "Dallas Buyers Club."
In startling photos unveiled on photographerTerry Richardson's blog, the lanky 5-foot-9 Leto lifts his shirt to show off his tiny, concave stomach. Jared, 40, also shaved his eyebrows and body hair to look like an emaciated and sickly AIDs patient.
Leto, who's known for his obsessive commitment to his acting roles, lost the weight by fasting for almost four weeks.
"Your body goes through weird stages," he told New York magazine. "Sometimes it's hard to hold on to water. But for me, it's not about the most weight I can lose, it's more to represent the character. I'm focused on what it means to be a transsexual woman."
Jared, a vegan who normally hikes, cycles and does yoga to stay fit, had hoped to experience the enlightenment some people say they experience while fasting.
"Historically, people have done it for pursuit of self, to achieve a meditative state, so I'm hoping for that, and not the other things." he laughed. "It's not necessarily a bad thing."
Meanwhile, Leto's co-star, Matthew McConaughey, is also raising eyebrows after losing 38 pounds off his usually muscular body to play the lead role in "Dallas Buyers Club."
Not surprisingly, the 6-foot McConaughey, who crash-dieted from a strapping 181 pounds to a gaunt 143 pounds, can't wait to sink his teeth into a juicy cheeseburger after shooting wraps.
“I will have some 70%-beef, 30%-fat ground beef, maybe a half-pound cheeseburger with another three types of cheese," said McConaughey. "I'll prepare it all and I'll make sure that it takes three hours just to prepare.
While dramatically changing his body for a film role is new to the athletic Matthew, it's something Jared has done before. In 2007, Leto gained a whopping 67 pounds to play John Lennonassassin Mark David Chapman for the drama "Chapter 27."
Jared piled on the weight by gorging on pints of ice cream spiked with olive oil and soy sauce. In 2008, Leto insisted he would never again gain weight for a film role because carrying the excessive weight on his slender frame damaged his health.
"I'd never do it again; it definitely gave me some problems," he said. "I don't know if it was gout, but I had a definite problem with my feet.
"Towards the end of the shoot, one of the glaring issues was the pain I had with my feet. I couldn't walk for long distances; I had a wheelchair because it was so painful. My body was in shock from the amount of weight I gained. It took about a year to get back to a place that felt semi-normal. I don't know if I'll ever be back to the place I was physically."
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