10 Actors Who Took A Ridiculously Long Time To Prepare For Iconic Roles

6. Tom Hanks - Cast Away

Time Spent Preparing: Months of pre-production, plus one year in between filming Robert Zemeckis' Cast Away was somewhat unfairly overlooked on release, and while it's since become recognised as one of the great survival movies, Tom Hanks' performance in the film is still somewhat undervalued. It's a shame considering Hanks carries the film in its dramatic bookends as well as through the scenes where his character's stranded on a deserted island (here, Hanks is almost mute, turned into a modern silent film star), something only possible thanks to his dedication to the role. To play the pudgy, middle-aged version of Chuck Noland you see at the beginning of the film, Hanks gained weight in the pre-production months, before filming was halted as Hanks had to lose the weight all over again, and then some. In the time that Hanks spent shedding the (50) pounds and growing out his hair and beard - that's an entire year - Zemeckis actually went away and shot another film, What Lies Beneath. When Zemeckis and crew returned to filming, Hanks had become suitably hairy and emaciated to finish the shoot.