10 Actors Who Destroyed Their Bodies To Bring Characters To Life

Jared Leto has proven time and time again that he's willing to take himself to completely new places in order to fully immerse himself in a character.

He's bowled over the Academy by shaving every bit of hair off his body and losing 30 to 40 lbs to play Rayon in Dallas Buyers Club (2013). But, he's also gone a little too far by sending his fellow cast members disturbing gifts as The Joker whilst filming Suicide Squad (2016).

Yet, neither of those characters had a lasting effect on the actor's body. The same cannot be said for his turn as Mark Chapman in Chapter 27 (2007).

Due to abruptly gaining too much weight, Leto started suffering from gout. He also noted how he felt severe pain in his feet towards the end of the shoot and even ended up needing a wheelchair to get around the set.

Speaking in an interview with the L.A. Times in 2014, Leto said, '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.'

He's recently got himself fairly beefed up to play the titular role in the upcoming Morbius flick, but Leto has been in no rush to pack on the pounds quite like he did for Chapman in the years since.