10 Actors Who Went Through Hell To Win An Oscar

Hilary Swank was a largely unknown jobbing actress most notable for The Next Karate Kid and TV's Beverly Hills 90210 when she landed the career-changing role as the lead in director Kimberly Peirce's Boys Don't Cry.

The film is based on the true story of Brandon Teena, a transgender man who was murdered in a brutal hate crime in Nebraska, 1991. To secure the role and nail her performance, Swank went to lengths to pass herself off as male.

To this end she cut her hair, lost weight and dressed as a man in her daily life for a month prior to shooting the film, unrecognised by her own neighbours. Swank maintained this throughout production, never allowing cast or crew to see her as a woman.

Though the low-budget indie production only earned her a reported $3,000, critical acclaim and awards season recognition catapulted her to the big time, and what would be the first of two Best Actress Oscars to date (the second for 2004's Million Dollar Baby).