With the release of The Informant, Matt Damon will join the ranks of other illustrious celebs who’ve gained weight for movie roles. I have to admit, I get awfully jealous whenever I hear about stars getting paid to pack on the pounds. Here I am, eating bird food and sweating through spin class to keep my jeans from getting snug and they’re binging their way to box office and Oscar gold. But after seeing some of the diets they follow to fatten up—especially considering they have to eat this way for months at a time—suddenly a sensible salad doesn’t seem all that bad.
Matt Damon
Movie Role: Mark Whitacre, The Informant
Weight Gained: 30 pounds
Foods Consumed: In interviews, he’s listed dark beer, Doritos, and Mickey D’s Value Meals—eaten in between meals on the set—as part of his plump-up plan.
Jared Leto
Movie Role: Mark David Chapman, Chapter 27
Weight Gained: 60 pounds
Foods Consumed: To prepare himself for the movie, the usually-slim Leto gorged on entire large Domino’s pizzas for dinner. He also ate whole ice cream pints microwaved and mixed with olive oil and soy sauce.
Megan Fox
Movie Role: Mikaela Banes, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
Weight Gained: 10 pounds
Foods Consumed: Deemed too skinny for the sequel by director Michael Bay, Fox was ordered to put on a few pounds. She did this by eating three meals a day (instead of the usual one … yeah, that’s right, one) and having red velvet cake at night.
Renee Zellweger
Movie Role: Bridget Jones, Bridget Jones’s Diary, Bridget Jones’s Diary: The Edge of Reason (and the upcoming third installment)
Weight Gained: About 30 pounds
Foods Consumed: Zellweger keeps mostly mum about what she ate to prep for both movies, but rumors run the gamut, with everything from pizza and chocolate to spirulina and flax oil shakes.
