To deliver the best performance possible, some actors decide to do as much work as they possibly can. Whether it’s researching a historical figure, or living the life of a fictional character as best as possible, actors go to great lengths to deliver strong and believable performances. Some actors may even go too far in their pursuit of delivering an authentic performance, and find themselves consumed by the role they’re playing. Here are 11 examples of times when actors found their lives overtaken by a part.

11 Jamie Foxx as Ray Charles – Ray (2004)

     Universal Pictures

Jamie Foxx played the iconic musician Ray Charles in Ray, which delves into the singer’s blindness, career, and battle with addiction. Foxx lost 30 pounds to look more like Charles, and that wasn’t the only physical work he did. Looper shared that Foxx had his eyelids glued shut on set to mimic blindness. This loss of vision affected him mentally and physically, as it caused him to have panic attacks and lose sense of his body. He won an Oscar for the performance, but it didn’t come without its struggle.

10 Natalie Portman as Nina Sayers – Black Swan (2010)

     Fox Searchlight Pictures

For her Oscar-winning role of Nina in the psychological drama Black Swan, Natalie Portman immersed herself in the life of a perfectionist ballet dancer. She studied dance and practiced for eight hours a day, which made her dislocate a rib. She lost 20 pounds to have a dancer’s figure, on a diet of carrots and almonds that left her feeling like she might die. All the desperation, pain, and perfectionism came through in her award-winning performance.

9 Christian Bale as Trevor Reznik – The Machinist (2004)

     Paramount Classics

Another known method actor, Christian Bale went to extreme lengths in his performance as Trevor Reznik in The Machinist. Bale is well-known for his dramatic physical transformations, and to play Trevor, a character facing delusions due to lack of sleep, he dieted for months on apples and tuna to drop his weight to a dangerous 120 pounds, per Men’s Health. He actually wanted to lose more, but the film team denied it due to health concerns. Furthermore, the weight loss wasn’t necessary, as the character’s original description was for someone smaller, but Bale took the challenge anyway, and earned praise for his dedication.

8 Val Kilmer as Jim Morrison – The Doors (1991)

     Tri-Star Pictures

Another music biopic, The Doors, sees Val Kilmer take on the role of singer Jim Morrison. Kilmer spent a year living the life of the singer, and, according to Far Out Magazine, was so wrapped up in Morrison that he needed therapy to get back into his own life after the movie finished filming. He learned how to play fifty of Morrison’s songs, and had people call him “Jim” while on the movie’s set. Interestingly, despite the work he put into it, his performance met mixed reviews, with some critics not liking his cold portrayal.

7 Daniel Day-Lewis as Abraham Lincoln – Lincoln (2012)

     Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures

Daniel Day-Lewis is well-known for being an intense method actor who immerses himself in each part. As President Abraham Lincoln in the historical drama Lincoln, he further embraced that approach. He spent a year researching the president, including reading his writing, and lost weight to match Lincoln’s look. During the movie’s shooting period, Day-Lewis stayed in character the entire time, and even insisted he be addressed as Mr. President. Though there have been recent debates about his method acting and its merits, he was rewarded with an Oscar for the performance.

6 Heath Ledger as the Joker – The Dark Knight (2008)

     Warner Bros. Pictures

Heath Ledger’s performance as the famous Batman villain, the Joker, was an absolute highlight of The Dark Knight. To play such a sadistic character, Ledger isolated himself in a hotel for a month, and used the time to develop the character; he even filled a diary as the Joker. The role left him exhausted and unable to sleep. Sadly, he died shortly after filming, though his widely-acclaimed, Oscar-winning performance still lives on.

5 Jared Leto as the Joker – Suicide Squad (2016)

Another Joker example is Jared Leto’s performance as the character in Suicide Squad. To embrace the villainous role, he stayed in character the entire time on set and even scared his co-stars with his intense dedication to the role. He also allegedly sent his co-stars weird gifts, like used condoms and live rats, though he denied this. Unlike Ledger, however, his performance didn’t receive favorable reviews, as many thought his performance was a caricature.

4 Adrien Brody as Wladyslaw Szpilman – The Pianist (2002)

     BAC Films/Tobis Film/Syrena Entertainment Group/Pathé  Distribution

The historical drama The Pianist tells the story of Wladyslaw Szpilman (Adrien Brody), a piano player and Holocaust survivor separated from his family during the war. For the role, Brody lost weight to show the physical effects of the Holocaust, and learned piano. To further embody the harrowing pain and loneliness of the role, Brody gave up his apartment, his car, and his phone. He won an Oscar for the role, and it is still considered his best performance, 20 years later.

3 Leonardo DiCaprio as Hugh Glass – The Revenant (2015)

     20th Century Fox

The Revenant brought Leonardo DiCaprio his first Oscar, and the amount of work he did as Hugh Glass reflected it. As a frontiersman traveling the frigid Dakotas for revenge, DiCaprio threw himself into the cold setting, and risked hypothermia by actually going into the cold rivers to film the movie’s scenes. In a scene where Hugh sleeps in an animal carcass for warmth, DiCaprio really did so. He even ate raw bison liver for a scene, with a disgusted reaction that was genuine, and showed his dedication.

2 James Gandolfini as Tony Soprano – The Sopranos (1999-2007)

     Warner Bros. Television Distribution

The Sopranos starred James Gandolfini as mob boss Tony Soprano, a role that brought him high praise. Off-screen, however, he was uncomfortable both with the fame the role brought him, and the dark sides of Tony’s personality that he had to portray. Slash Film shared that he had previous struggles with addiction, and being in a “negative headspace” as Tony pushed him back into those struggles. It also made his mental health suffer, and there were times during filming when he wouldn’t show up to set, or would hit himself in frustration – a dark example of what went on behind such a well-regarded performance.

1 Austin Butler as Elvis Presley – Elvis (2022)

Austin Butler’s performance as Elvis Presley in the biopic Elvis has been widely praised for its accuracy. The movie covers Elvis from his early days to his death, with Butler capturing each facet of the singer’s life. The success didn’t come without intense effort; Butler shared that he researched and prepared for the role for three years, and didn’t see his family for that entire time. He also talked solely in Elvis’s voice. Even after filming, he was still impacted, and according to Variety, had to be hospitalized when he experienced severe pain due to the physical and emotional stress he had put himself through.