Actors Who Never Recovered From Their Most Distressing Roles

Adrian Brody in The Pianist

Adrian Brody went through both a tremendous physical and emotional transformation to play Wladyslaw Szpilman, a real-life pianist and Holocaust survivor. The role earned him an Academy Award for Best Actor, but it came at a price.

Brody went on a crash diet in order to depict Szpilman, who would have been starving at the time. For six weeks, Brody consumed two boiled eggs for breakfast, a small amount of chicken for lunch, and chicken or fish with steamed vegetables for dinner. Brody was 6'5", but at his lightest, he weighed only 130 pounds.