10 Stars Who've Dropped Major Pounds for Major Roles

In the real world, mere mortals struggle with weight loss by eating new diets, dragging their sweatpants-clad booties to the gym, and snacking on carrots while wishing they were candy. In celeb world, it's completely different. Sometimes, as horrible as it sounds, stars are asked to drop serious weight for a role. And since filming can begin in as little as a couple months, they've got to scramble to see a change on the scale. That means pulling out all the stops: Personal trainers, drill sergeants, personal chefs, special diets, you name it. Here are ten of the stars that have lost dramatic weight for the name of art and how they did it; just remember that you probably shouldn't follow suit. Note: These are in no particular order...

10. Anne Hathaway

Anne Hathaway recently admitted that she practically starved to squeeze her already-tiny body into the iconic Catwoman suit for "The Dark Knight Rises." In fact, she reportedly said she'd lived on "kale and dust" while getting in shape for the role. Disclaimer here? Dust is not a low-calorie food. It's dust. This is not an actual way to lose weight. Of course, Hathaway later signed on to the musical adaptation "Les Miserables," where she plays a tuberculosis stricken prostitute, and the weight loss will be so drastic this time around, she'll probably be restricted to kale and air.

9. 50 Cent

Yes, that 50 Cent. Is there another? In a bid to become a serious actor, 50 dropped 50 €“ pounds that is €“ to play a cancer patient in "Things Fall Apart." The movie, centered on an NFL hopeful, came under fire when the author of the iconic novel by the same name put a stop to the movie being released under the current title. With some of the momentum lost, the movie went straight to DVD, so 50's serious weight loss might have been for naught. On the bright side, he got to eat a lot of lettuce!