10 Actors Who Went Through Hell To Win An Oscar

10. Robert De Niro - Raging Bull

Anytime we talk about the extreme lengths some actors will go to for the sake of an Oscar-worthy performance, this is always the one that comes up - and with good reason.

Back in 1981, Robert De Niro already had one Oscar - Best Supporting Actor, for The Godfather Part II in 1975 - plus two Best Actor nominations for Taxi Driver and The Deer Hunter.

However, it was Raging Bull that finally won the then-37 year old actor the big award. The role of real-life boxer Jake LaMotta naturally required De Niro to train hard, winding up in the best physical shape of his career.

However, what makes Raging Bull truly legendary is that director Martin Scorcese halted production on the film to allow De Niro to get totally out of shape for the later scenes, centred on the older, post-retirement LaMotta.

De Niro duly ate his way across Italy and France for four months and wound up almost unrecognisable, having ballooned from 145 pounds to 215 pounds.

Even so, all this is surely just the window dressing on a truly fantastic performance. Despite three further nominations in the years since, De Niro hasn't won another Oscar as of yet.