WOMEN ON SCREEN: 5 EXTREME FILM TRANSFORMATIONS

Charlize Theron Monster (2003)

The South African star won an Oscar for her remarkable transformation into serial killer Aileen Wuornos. Theron gained weight, bleached her eyebrows, thinned her hair, wore dentures and even weathered her skin, layering it with washed-off tattoo ink.

Nicole Kidman The Hours (2002)

It’s less extreme than Destroyer, but Kidman’s Oscar-winning evolution into novelist Virginia Woolf took hours in the make-up chair. Donning a prominent prosthetic nose, it was so convincing, she could leave her trailer and “not have anyone know me”.

Rooney Mara The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo (2011)

The Goth hacker heroine of Stieg Larsson’s crime novels, Lisbeth Salander came alive in the hands of Mara, who gave herself an extreme makeover to play the part, including dyeing her hair jet black.

Cameron Diaz Being John Malkovich (1999)

Cast as Lotte, the dowdy pet-obsessed wife to John Cusack’s mournful puppeteer in Spike Jonze’s surreal comedy, the usually-luminous Diaz played down her looks. Hiding her blonde hair with a permed wig, she was almost unrecognisable.

Renée Zellweger Bridget Jones’ Diary (2001)

To play the famed singleton, Zellweger ate doughnuts and cheese pizza, going from a Size 6 to a Size 14. She did it all again for the sequel – only this time she hired a nutritionist to help increase her weight in a more controlled manner.