A Dedicated Actor?

According to an article from Breeanna Hare, actor Jared Leto 'stopped eating' for the new film, 'Dallas Buyers Club.'

The actor recently revealed he lost 30 to 40 pounds for his role as a transsexual living with HIV in the 1980s. Indeed, to get down to an extremely low weight, "I stopped eating," Leto said, adding that such a drastic physical change had an impact beyond the scale. "It changes the way you walk, the way you sit, the way you think." This wasn’t the first time Leto has altered his appearance for previous roles, including gaining weight to play Mark David Chapman in 2007's "Chapter 27." For the making of that film, Leto told New York magazine's Vulture, "it's not about the most weight I can lose, it's more to represent the character." And so, while fasting to portray his "Dallas Buyers" character Rayon, Leto said he was meditating on "what it means to be a transsexual woman." And, for the actor’s efforts, critics, like The Hollywood Reporter, praised Leto, calling him "simply wonderful ... in the showier supporting role." And that’s where I find myself disturbed. This isn’t the first time Hollywood and the theatre world have made a big fuss over actors who’ve dramatically altered their weights to embody the character they play. Renee Zellweger, Charlize Theron, Tom Hanks and Robert de Niro are just a sampling of actors. It’s a sore spot with me, as I was a theatre major in college. I’m concerned about the message it sends, a kind of Machiavellian method, in the name of dedication to the craft, as well as to the image it presents. As an actor myself, I starved, purged, over-exercised and used a variety of extreme techniques for different auditions and roles. Health was not on my mind; “the “end result,” be it an image or an acting goal of the moment, however, was. I’m sure Leto and the other actors out there who have dramatically altered their weights have no intention of conveying harmful messages to those of us struggling with food, weight and body image issues. However, we do encounter the power of the message all the same. “Triggering” is an often used term in our struggles and recovery. Hollywood, the independent film industry, the stage, theatre critics and those actors embracing the weight modifying decisions, in my opinion, are part of the risky problem, not the healthy, artistic or noble solution. And, yes, again, I trot out an often cited scripture, for my edification and for others: “I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made…” Psalm 139:14 Right now, with no altering, whatsoever, we’re incredible. This scripture reality check I find is needed, unfortunately, as we encounter current news trends such as this. I wish it wasn’t the case. Copyright © 2013 by Sheryle Cruse