Celebrities Before and After Their Massive Weight Changes

When it comes to being a celebrity, there are many elements that must be incredibly difficult to deal with.

Sure, you have money, but you also have very little privacy. What that means is that as long as you’re considered to be “famous,” every time you step out of your house there’s a chance the paparazzi are lurking around the corner waiting to snap.

This becomes an even more concerning problem if this celebrity happens to be, you know, a human, and struggle with their weight. Many prominent celebrities have been scrutinized in the past for their weight gains, and many times this was completely uncalled for.

In fact, as you’ll learn, many times actors got put on weight specifically for an acting role, not that it stopped critics. While there’s a wrestler and musician below, many times you’ll find it’s actors that get accosted for their weight gain.

Perhaps now instead of thinking Jonah Hill just got fat again, you’ll learn about which upcoming role caused the actor to get larger.

If the celebrity has also been able to reel in their weight gain and is looking better than ever, such as is the case with celebrities like Oprah and Al Roker, that too will be highlighted.

You’ll also learn what actor famously said “I don’t mind I’m fat. You still get the same money.” Fun fact: It’s the same actor that got ham air-liftedto the movie set because he was hungry. Here are 20 examples of the most drastic weight fluctuations that celebrities have experienced.

1. Jonah Hill

Jonah Hill has had an incredibly public battle with his weight, but when you are as talented as Hill is, perhaps you’re not shocked that all eyes seem to be on him. When Hill first emerged on the scene, he was definitely a bit of a heavier guy (just look at him in films like Accepted).

As his career continued on, Hill started to establish himself as a tremendous actor and in 2012 the world got to see a skinny Jonah Hill kicking some ass (or trying to) in 21 Jump Street. It probably helped that he was dating a nutritionist at the time!

I hope you’re ready to get shocked by an absolutely huge Jonah Hill. Hard to blame Jonah for the weight gain, as it was for his upcoming film War Dogs which is based on a true story and also stars Miles Teller.

There is no doubt that there is always a huge risk when actors adjust their body for a role, but let’s hope Jonah will be able to have the willpower to slim himself back down to a healthy weight once he’s done with this film.

2. Brendan Fraser

Brendan Fraser’s dramatic transformation for his role in the film ‘The Whale’ showcased his dedication to his craft. The film, directed by Darren Aronofsky, saw Fraser wearing up to 300 pounds of prosthetics to portray an obese man, marking a significant departure from his earlier roles.

Best known for his adventurous character in ‘The Mummy’ franchise, this role allowed him to explore the complex character of Charlie, a middle-aged man who, in the story, gains a staggering 600 pounds due to his emotional struggles.

Fraser’s commitment to this challenging role not only highlighted his versatility as an actor but also emphasized the lengths some actors go to in order to bring their characters to life.

His portrayal in ‘The Whale’ drew attention not only for his incredible physical transformation but also for the emotional depth he brought to the character.

3. Russell Crowe

Russell Crowe is one of the best examples as to why it’s really not fair to rip into these actors for their weight, especially without knowing the entire story. Many people attacked Crowe when he emerged looking incredibly heavy back around August of last year.

In an interview, Crowe stated he was around 270 pounds at the time and had a very evident gut. Why did he gain the weight? Crowe was in a recently released (and fantastic) film The Nice Guys, that starred Ryan Gosling and Crowe wanted to try and be the physical opposite of Gosling.

In March, Crowe came out and said he has already lost around 50 pounds. Given how ripped he’s looked in the past for films like Gladiator, we’re sure it’s only a matter of time before Crowe gets his old body back.

Crowe is no stranger to weight gain. In 1999, he put on 50 pounds to play tobacco executive Jeffrey Wigand in the movie The Insider.

4. John Travolta

There is no doubting that John Travolta used to be absolutely ripped. I mean, you don’t land the role in Saturday Night Fever (and the forgettable sequel, Stayin’ Alive) without being able to strut your stuff on the dance floor, and part of being able to really strut it involves having washboard abs.

Travolta was a tremendous actor and sex icon, but as his career went on, he apparently seems to have cared a little bit less about his waistline. That being said, how on earth could anyone be expected to keep the same body they had during their prime?

Travolta definitely doesn’t deserve any of your current flack though, as the actor has dropped anything that could even be resembling fat for his role of Robert Shapiro in the fantastic show, The People V O.J. Simpson.

While he’s definitely not as active in the industry as he used to be, there is no doubting that Travolta can still bring his A-game when it matters.

5. Steven Seagal

There is no doubt that back in the 80s and for at least part of the 90s, Steven Seagal was a pretty big badass. And part of being a badass is being in shape, as you can see from the above 1988 film, Above The Law.

It was Steven’s first film, so you can understand why he must have put in some time at the gym to make sure he had the muscles to back up the ass-kicking he did on screen. But as time went on, Seagal’s career continued to dip downward.

He’s still doing some acting work though, and one of his more recent films is The Perfect Weapon. Definitely sounds fitting for Seagal, at least until you realize he needs to sport that god awful goatee and is definitely pushing up against the waistband of his pants.

Seagal is currently linked to an upcoming film Attrition that is in pre-production, so who knows, maybe Steven is currently going hard at the gym so he can bust back onto the scene in 2017 and blow us all away. I mean, probably not, but he could.

6. Randy Jackson 

Randy Jackson is an outstanding record producer, but you probably know him best for his time on American Idol. As popular as the show was, Jackson’s weight was often a talking point in the media.

It was in 2003 that Jackson underwent gastric bypass surgery and lost around 114 pounds (and roughly 230 pounds overall). But unable to completely conquer his health problems, Jackson has been diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes, a fact he opened up about during a commercial that ran in 2008.

When he was talking about the decision to have surgery, Jackson said “I was like: I really need to do something to nip this in the bud right now.

It worked for me, but I hesitate to recommend it for people because it’s like a personal life decision. It’s a life choice because you change and alter your complete life when you do this.”

He made sure to talk about the dangers of the procedure, as at the time, roughly 1 in every 200 people did not survive gastric bypass surgery.

Jackson has been out of the public eye for a while now, we just need to hope that he’s been able to keep himself healthy.

7. Elvis

Elvis Presley was one of the biggest sex icons in the world when he was first making his mark in the music industry. Easy to see why with his charming smile and well-combed hair. But the end of Presley’s life is a sad one, as the star grew troubled at the demands of fame.

He secluded himself to his home in Graceland, and while he still toured in the 70s, reports surfaced that by 1976, the musician was bored with the “grinding schedule of repeated routines, the monotony of the road, and a heart heavy from personal disappointments.”

Those who saw Presley towards the end of his career talk about how the singer was near impossible to understand on stage and unable to move around for very long.

Presley would abuse prescription drugs, often feeling like he needed them to first perform on stage, and then again to help him fall asleep at night.

This, combined with a poor diet, led to Presley gaining a substantial amount of weight as his career went on. While there were also reports that he attempted to use diet pills, there is no telling if they did more harm than good.

Presley died in 1977, and at the time had suffered from liver damage, an enlarged colon, glaucoma and high blood pressure.

8. Vince Vaughn

Vince Vaughn is one of the funniest actors in Hollywood. When he first made his big break into the industry, it was alongside Jon Favreau (who also wrote the movie). The film came out in 1996, making Vaughn roughly 26 years old. At the time, he was a young, very in shape dude who had no problem pulling off his role.

As Vaughn’s career got longer though, his waistline also seemed to expand. The above photo is definitely not the best angle for Vaughn, and perhaps shows him when he was at his heaviest. Fans of True Detective will know that Vaughn hasn’t struggled to slim himself back down when necessary.

His next film, Brawl in Cell Block 99, tells the story of a boxer-turned-drug runner. There is very little else known about the film, but you can imagine if Vaughn is tapped as the lead he’ll need to pull off one heck of a body transformation from when he was at his biggest.

9. Scott Hall

Below you’re going to read about a lot of actors who gained a substantial amount of weight for a movie role. Unfortunately, that logic doesn’t really apply to professional wrestlers.

Even if Scott Hall is no longer lacing up his boots, you would’ve hoped that he’d be able to take better care of himself after retirement.

I can only imagine how unappealing the extreme amount of chest hair that Hall has looks when the surface area is about 3 times larger than when he used to parade shirtless in the ring.

In all seriousness, it must already suck getting old after a career of wrestling (hello body pain), and you’re really not doing yourself any favors by adding that extra stress to your joints.

Hall was signed to Global Force Wrestling on May 13th, 2015, but was released from his contract 5 days later. Hall has also abused drugs and alcohol throughout his career, which does not exactly do wonders for your overall fitness levels. Nothing says “let’s go do some cardio” like making sure you first polish off that 12-pack. Hall was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2014.

10. Val Kilmer

Wait, what happened to Batman? Did he realize that with the Batmobile he could get to the nearest McDonald’s in under 3 minutes? Kilmer was cast as the very in-shape and attractive Bruce Wayne for the less than successful Batman film Batman Forever in 1995.

This wasn’t the first time that Kilmer has been in shape for. I mean just look at the guy in Top Gun. But looking at the above photo, it becomes clear that there was a time when Val was letting it all go.

Before we rip on Val too hard, we do have to give the actor credit for also being able to reel his weight back in.

The above photo was taken when he was perhaps at his heaviest, but in 2015, he tweeted out to haters who thought he could never be Iceman again, saying “Sorry to disappoint but I’m 165 lbs now. And 55 is the new 50!!!”

Kilmer was also required to drop some weight when he played Mark Twain, which he did in 2014 and will again in 2016/2017.