When actors and actresses transform themselves for a role, the results can be more than just physical. Charlize Theron and Gary Oldman won Oscars for their portrayals of serial killer Aileen Wuornos and British prime minister Winston Churchill respectively, while Tom Cruise won even more fans as foul-mouthed studio head Les Grossman in 2008's Tropic Thunder.
And whether they’re spending hours in the make-up chair or drinking pints of melted ice cream to change their body shape in record time, these stars have shown how dedicated they are to rendering themselves unrecognisable.
1. Colin Farrell as Oswald Cobblepot, AKA The Penguin in ‘The Batman’
If you didn't know this was Colin Farrell, it would be impossible to tell that the handsome 44-year-old Irish actor was beneath those prosthetics. Of winning the villainous role in the film, which has been pushed back for release to 2022 due to the pandemic, Farrell told GMA News: "Just to be part of that folklore, that mythology, is really cool."
2. Tilda Swinton as Dr Jozef Klemperer in ‘Suspiria’
The famously chameleonic actress went all out for her art in 2018's Suspiria, in which she transformed into an 82-year-old psychoanalyst. A reinterpretation of director Dario Argento's 1977 horror classic, 59-year-old Swinton played two roles in the film, with her role as Klemperer kept secret from the audience.
3. Christian Bale as Dick Cheney in ‘Vice’
The 46-year-old British Oscar winner spent hours in the make-up chair to transform into one of the United States’ most divisive vice presidents in recent history, Dick Cheney.
"There's a load of interviews with Mr Cheney and I got every single one of them on my phone," Bale told Screenrant of how he got into character. "And I'm just sitting there watching for hours and hours and hours."
4. Charlize Theron as Aileen Wuornos in ‘Monster’
The 45-year-old South African nabbed a Best Actress Oscar for her role as serial killer Aileen Wuornos, who was convicted of murdering seven men in Florida in 1989 and 1990. Eschewing a 'fat suit' in favour of gaining weight herself to play the role, Theron told Advocate she got into character by "constantly trying to be Aileen". "I was trying to
walk like Aileen, to carry myself like Aileen, things like that."
5. Jared Leto as Mark David Chapman in ‘Chapter 27’
Taking on the role of John Lennon’s killer, 48-year-old Leto was under pressure to gain a lot of weight in a short amount of time. Chowing down on nightly pizza and pasta dinners, Leto also admitted to melting pints of ice cream in the microwave and drinking them in order to pack on 30 kilograms.
6. Ewan MacGregor as Emmit Stussy in ‘Fargo’
The Scottish actor took on two roles in season three of the hit show, playing the Stussy brothers: the villainous Emmit and kind-hearted Ray.
“People were much friendlier when I was Ray or found me to be more friendly,” admitted the 49-year-old. “Make-up designer Gail Kennedy said that she was slightly intimidated by me when I was playing Emmit and not at all when I was playing Ray. So, there was definitely a difference.”
7. Rooney Mara as Lisbeth Salander in ‘The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo’
The American actress, who recently welcomed her first child with Joaquin Phoenix, underwent a dramatic transformation to play computer hacker Salander in the film adapted from the best-selling book.
And the 35-year-old admitted the role had changed her style in real life, too, telling Vogue: "I definitely dress more like a tomboy now. I have a bit of a utilitarian type of thing [going on]."
8. Gary Oldman as Winston Churchill in ‘Darkest Hour’
The 62-year-old actor won a Best Actor Oscar for portraying British prime minister Winston Churchill in the 2017 film.
"The make-up would take four hours," he told Deadline of applying the mask, which was created by Oscar-winning special make-up effects artist and visual artist, Kazuhiro Tsuji.
“Then I’d work a 12-hour day, followed by an hour at the end to take it off. So it was 18- or 20-hour waking days. I think I must have a Guinness World Record, actually, because it was 48 consecutive days in make-up.”
9. Matt Damon as Mark Whitacre in ‘The Informant’
Fifty-year-old Damon piled on the pounds, and added a moustache, to play undercover informer Mark Whitacre.
Gaining 13kg in total, he also added cheek plumpers to fill out his face, telling the New York Daily News: "I ate pizzas and In-N-Out burgers. I felt great for a while. De Niro put on 27kg for Raging Bull and he said that the first 15 pounds were absolute fun. Then it started to become work. With me, the first 20 pounds were fun and then it started to really wear on me because I couldn't exercise, so I never got the endorphin rush of breaking a sweat."
10. Tom Cruise as Les Grossman in ‘Tropic Thunder’
The 58-year-old action star shocked fans by turning his hand to comedy in the 2008 film Tropic Thunder. Playing bullying studio head Les Grossman, Cruise told the BBC he had two stipulations for writer-director Ben Stiller when it came to taking the role: "I said: 'I want to have fat hands and I want to dance'."
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BRAZIL SQUAD
Alisson (Liverpool), Daniel Fuzato (Roma), Ederson (Man City); Alex Sandro (Juventus), Danilo (Juventus), Eder Militao (Real Madrid), Emerson (Real Betis), Felipe (Atletico Madrid), Marquinhos (PSG), Renan Lodi (Atletico Madrid), Thiago Silva (PSG); Arthur (Barcelona), Casemiro (Real Madrid), Douglas Luiz (Aston Villa), Fabinho (Liverpool), Lucas Paqueta (AC Milan), Philippe Coutinho (Bayern Munich); David Neres (Ajax), Gabriel Jesus (Man City), Richarlison (Everton), Roberto Firmino (Liverpool), Rodrygo (Real Madrid), Willian (Chelsea).
House-hunting
Top 10 locations for inquiries from US house hunters, according to Rightmove
- Edinburgh, Scotland
- Westminster, London
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
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- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
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- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
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Jigra
Starring: Alia Bhatt, Vedang Raina, Manoj Pahwa, Harsh Singh
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Engine: naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12
Power: 819hp
Torque: 678Nm at 7,250rpm
Price: From Dh1,700,000
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WHAT IS A BLACK HOLE?
1. Black holes are objects whose gravity is so strong not even light can escape their pull
2. They can be created when massive stars collapse under their own weight
3. Large black holes can also be formed when smaller ones collide and merge
4. The biggest black holes lurk at the centre of many galaxies, including our own
5. Astronomers believe that when the universe was very young, black holes affected how galaxies formed
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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
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How to help or find other cats to adopt
Citadel: Honey Bunny first episode
Directors: Raj & DK
Stars: Varun Dhawan, Samantha Ruth Prabhu, Kashvi Majmundar, Kay Kay Menon
Rating: 4/5
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'Skin'
Dir: Guy Nattiv
Starring: Jamie Bell, Danielle McDonald, Bill Camp, Vera Farmiga
Rating: 3.5/5 stars
Walls
Louis Tomlinson
3 out of 5 stars
(Syco Music/Arista Records)
Email sent to Uber team from chief executive Dara Khosrowshahi
From: Dara
To: Team@
Date: March 25, 2019 at 11:45pm PT
Subj: Accelerating in the Middle East
Five years ago, Uber launched in the Middle East. It was the start of an incredible journey, with millions of riders and drivers finding new ways to move and work in a dynamic region that’s become so important to Uber. Now Pakistan is one of our fastest-growing markets in the world, women are driving with Uber across Saudi Arabia, and we chose Cairo to launch our first Uber Bus product late last year.
Today we are taking the next step in this journey—well, it’s more like a leap, and a big one: in a few minutes, we’ll announce that we’ve agreed to acquire Careem. Importantly, we intend to operate Careem independently, under the leadership of co-founder and current CEO Mudassir Sheikha. I’ve gotten to know both co-founders, Mudassir and Magnus Olsson, and what they have built is truly extraordinary. They are first-class entrepreneurs who share our platform vision and, like us, have launched a wide range of products—from digital payments to food delivery—to serve consumers.
I expect many of you will ask how we arrived at this structure, meaning allowing Careem to maintain an independent brand and operate separately. After careful consideration, we decided that this framework has the advantage of letting us build new products and try new ideas across not one, but two, strong brands, with strong operators within each. Over time, by integrating parts of our networks, we can operate more efficiently, achieve even lower wait times, expand new products like high-capacity vehicles and payments, and quicken the already remarkable pace of innovation in the region.
This acquisition is subject to regulatory approval in various countries, which we don’t expect before Q1 2020. Until then, nothing changes. And since both companies will continue to largely operate separately after the acquisition, very little will change in either teams’ day-to-day operations post-close. Today’s news is a testament to the incredible business our team has worked so hard to build.
It’s a great day for the Middle East, for the region’s thriving tech sector, for Careem, and for Uber.
Uber on,
Dara
ELIO
Starring: Yonas Kibreab, Zoe Saldana, Brad Garrett
Directors: Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, Adrian Molina
Rating: 4/5
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The specs
Engine: Four electric motors, one at each wheel
Power: 579hp
Torque: 859Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh825,900
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Teams
Punjabi Legends Owners: Inzamam-ul-Haq and Intizar-ul-Haq; Key player: Misbah-ul-Haq
Pakhtoons Owners: Habib Khan and Tajuddin Khan; Key player: Shahid Afridi
Maratha Arabians Owners: Sohail Khan, Ali Tumbi, Parvez Khan; Key player: Virender Sehwag
Bangla Tigers Owners: Shirajuddin Alam, Yasin Choudhary, Neelesh Bhatnager, Anis and Rizwan Sajan; Key player: TBC
Colombo Lions Owners: Sri Lanka Cricket; Key player: TBC
Kerala Kings Owners: Hussain Adam Ali and Shafi Ul Mulk; Key player: Eoin Morgan
Venue Sharjah Cricket Stadium
Format 10 overs per side, matches last for 90 minutes
Timeline October 25: Around 120 players to be entered into a draft, to be held in Dubai; December 21: Matches start; December 24: Finals
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
