MY CHOPPER TRANSFORMATION

We barely recognised actor Aaron Jeffery as he made his debut as underworld figure Mark “Chopper” Read this week.

The 47-year-old underwent a serious makeover for the two-part miniseries, which follows the notorious gangster’s journey, including prosthetic ears, tattoos, scars and having to put on weight.

“Sometimes I’d have a 24-hour makeup call depending on the amount of tattoos and scars I’d need,” says Aaron.

The star says gaining a few extra kilos for the role was easy enough. “We all know how to put on weight – carbs and sugar. I look at a can of coke and put on 5kg!” he laughs “But it wasn’t hard to lose it,” he adds. “I was working 16-hour days and wasn’t able to shovel in much food. And I got gastritis in the last week and lost more weight.” UNDERBELLY FILES: CHOPPER premieres Sunday, 8.30pm, Nine