Jared Leto has been winning hearts with his method acting in a variety of roles that led him to the success he owns today. While method acting drastically enhances an actor’s performance, it can also complicate their personal lives. It was what happened when he portrayed the role of Mark David Chapman in 2007’s Chapter 27.
He had a huge physical impact on his body which even took a great toll that he could no longer walk to the film set. Not just that, the abrupt weight gain caused him gout.
Jared Leto’s Weight Gain in Chapter 27 Gave Him Gout
Jared Leto portrayed a killer’s role in Chapter 27 which received a polarizing response, but this movie affected the actor a lot in physical terms. While weight gain is never easy for anyone, he knew he had to get into Mark David Chapman’s skin to understand him.
“The script didn’t say, ‘Page 1: You gain 67 pounds, and you’re miserable for two months.’ But as I started to research, I realized that the physical representation of this guy had so much to do with who he was.”
Elsewhere, he mentioned,
“It was important to make that transformation because I thought his physical representation of himself was an indication of who he was. And it changed everything about who I was – the way I walked, the way I talked, the way I felt about myself, the way people treated me.”
He had a difficult time walking on set due to his weight gain.
“I couldn’t walk for long distances; I had a wheelchair because it was so painful. My body was in shock from the amount of weight I gained.”
For the unversed, he gained 67 pounds by a diet of drinking microwaved pints of ice cream mixed with soy sauce and olive oil. However, the abrupt gain of weight gave him gout. Doctors recommended Lipitor for him to deal with the outcome.
Jared Leto Went on a Seven-Week Diet to Lose His Weight
The insane weight gain had to be handled afterward which is when he decided to go on a seven-week diet to get into shape.
He explained,
“I’ve been fasting ever since. I’ve been doing this very strange, like, lemon and cayenne pepper and water fast. I didn’t eat any food for 10 days straight; I think I lost 20 pounds that first 10 days.”
It was much more a hectic task than it looked, as he stated,
“It took about a year to get back to a place that felt semi-normal. I don’t know if I’ll ever be back to the place I was physically. I’d never do it again; it definitely gave me some problems.”
It would have been challenging for him to lose what he piled up for the role but his killer transformation eventually gave fruitful results. His performance was widely acclaimed setting another example of how far he can go for method acting.
Source: Daily News, LA Times
