10+ Stars Who Had to Do Crazy Things to Take Their Roles to a Genius Level

There’s no doubt that being an actor requires a lot of dedication. However, sometimes a role can require some extra hard work so that movie stars can interpret not only a character’s personality but also their skills.

5-Minute Crafts has compiled a list of 11 actors and actresses who have taken their talent to new heights and had to learn incredible skills to perform a role.

1. Natalie Portman took ballet lessons for The Black Swan.

Natalie Portman relied on her former ballet training for her role in the movie, which she had received between the ages of 4 and 13. She went back to ballet lessons one year before the actual filming started. She trained with the well-known ballet dancer, Mary Helen Bowers, and the plan included intense muscle toning, toe exercises, and swimming a mile per day. Even though the actress admitted to having dance doubles that helped her with the tricky scenes, her role took her to the top and earned her an Academy Award for Best Actress in 2010.

2. Leonardo DiCaprio learned 2 ancient languages for The Revenant.

Besides eating a raw piece of bison liver despite being a vegetarian, Leonardo DiCaprio worked very hard for what he describes as the most difficult performance of his acting career. For his role in The Revenant, he had to learn several new things, which included healing techniques from ancient times, building a fire, and speaking Pawnee and Arikara, 2 different Native American languages. Even though his preparation was extremely hard, his outstanding dedication earned him an Oscar for the role in 2016.

3. Meryl Streep learned 2 different languages for Sophie’s Choice.

Meryl Streep learned German and Polish to have a most genuine accent and interpret her role as a Polish refugee in the best possible way. She’s said to have learned the former from one of the film’s assistants. Due to this hard work and dedication, she was awarded an Oscar for Best Actress in a Leading Role.

4. Margot Robbie learned how to skate for I, Tonya.

Even though she was a member of an ice hockey team, Margot Robbie didn’t have much experience skating before playing the skating champion, Tonya Harding. However, to excel in her performance, Robbie learned how to skate alongside Sarah Kawahara, an acclaimed skating choreographer who helped her train for 3 months before filming. Their regimen consisted of practicing around 4 times per week, in which Robbie did a very good job as she was nominated for an Oscar and won several other awards for the role.

5. Adrien Brody learned to play Chopin’s pieces on the piano for The Pianist.

Besides losing 30 pounds and leaving his car and apartment behind to connect better with his character, Adrien Brody had to learn Chopin’s passages on the piano for his leading role in The Pianist. His impressive hard work was widely regarded, and Brody became the winner of an Oscar for his performance in the movie.

6. Rachel Weisz learned how to play the banjo for The Brothers Bloom.

In order to master her role as Penelope, Rachel Weisz had to learn many different things, which included performing a card trick that took her about a month, skateboarding, rapping, doing karate, riding a unicycle, and playing piano, banjo, violin, accordion, and ping pong.

7. Rooney Mara learned computer hacking for The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo.

Apart from getting several piercings, Rooney Mara learned a series of things to play her role in the film. These included skateboarding, kickboxing, computer hacking, and riding a motorcycle. Consequently, all of these efforts paid off very well and she earned several acting awards.

8. Keanu Reeves learned how to surf for Point Break.

Although he had no experience surfing, Keanu Reeves went to Hawaii 2 months ahead of filming so he could learn how to surf. He and other members of the cast trained with Dennis Jarvis, a former professional surfer who helped them ace the lessons.

9. Timothée Chalamet learned how to play classical piano passages for Call Me By Your Name.

Besides learning how to speak Italian while filming, Timothée Chalamet learned to play the classical piano passages used in the movie. This dedication led him to be nominated for an Oscar and he was awarded several acting awards for his role.

10. Joseph Gordon-Levitt learned tightrope walking for The Walk.

The actor learned how to walk on a wire by training with the high-wire artist, Philippe Petit himself. When the practice began, Petit said that it would take no more than 8 days for Joseph Gordon-Levitt to be able to walk on the tightrope on his own, which ended up being true.

11. Kate Winslet has been learning a lot for her next role in Avatar 2.

Although the film has not been released yet, Kate Winslet revealed that she had to learn free-diving to play her character as well as hold her breath underwater for several minutes. “My longest breath hold was 7 minutes and 14 seconds, like crazy, crazy stuff,” she said in an interview.

Bonus: Halle Berry went a really long time without showering to prepare for Jungle Fever.

When preparing for her role in Jungle Fever, Halle Berry had to play a character struggling with different types of problems, so she decided to try something new. “At that time, all I could really do was kind of try to be it, to be it, so I didn’t shower for the whole entire time that we shot that movie, so that was probably about 8 weeks. It was gnarly.”

How far are you willing to go to land a job? Let us know in the comments!