7 Actors Who Went Through Incredible Body Transformations (But Not For The Movie You Think)

4. Matthew McConaughey - Mud NOT Magic Mike

It's no secret that Matthew McConaughey had a reputation earlier in his career for appearing shirtless in his movies, with works of cinema such as Sahara, Fool's Gold, and Surfer, Dude, including his washboard abs as a major selling point.

But around a decade ago, the actor decided to exercise a little more modesty for a brief spell as he appeared in a string of movies where he sported a decidedly leaner, more wiry physique, which was generally also covered up - namely The Lincoln Lawyer, Bernie, Killer Joe, and The Paperboy.

And so, his fans were overjoyed when 2012's Magic Mike appeared to herald the re-emergence of McConaughey's impeccable sans-shirt physique, with more headlines devoted to the physical conditioning of the actor and his co-stars than the film's surprisingly engrossing narrative.

But McConaughey had already gotten back into shape to play the oft-shirtless drifter protagonist of Jeff Nichols' indie drama Mud, which the actor shot literally weeks before Magic Mike, effectively allowing the one feat of body-sculpting to play across both movies. Genius.