10 Actors Who Got SERIOUSLY Ripped To Play Superheroes

5. Christian Bale (Batman Begins)

There's surely no actor working today as renowned for their yo-yo dieting as Christian Bale, who has gained and lost weight countless times in quick succession for roles. Bale clearly doesn't like being pigeonholed, though, and upon hearing that a critic had referred to his "trademark weight loss", the actor said he'd like to "p*** on that guy’s shoes." Charming.

Bale's most drastic transformation to date was for his star-making role as Batman in Batman Begins. After dropping to just 120 pounds for indie thriller The Machinist, Bale had only six months to get into the shape a professional wrestler would be envious of in order to play Christopher Nolan's butch vision of the Caped Crusader.

Bale gained a mind-boggling 109 pounds for the part, in great excess of what Nolan actually required, temporarily raising concerns that Bale would look too bulky to convey the superhero's lightning-fast speed and reflexes. Never one to shy away from a challenge, though, Bale quickly lost almost 40 pounds before shooting started.

While Bale's muscular definition isn't as pronounced as many of the other entries on this list, his buff, broad look was nevertheless hugely impressive - especially knowing his prior weight less - and helped create a Batman highly distinct from his iconic predecessors.