10 of the biggest on-screen transformations, from Christian Bale in Vice to Tilda Swinton in Suspiria

Over the years, certain actors have gone to extreme lengths to transform themselves for a role

Christian Bale’s dramatic transformation as Dick Cheney in Vice has been one of the biggest talking points around the new film, and has also earned him a Best Actor nomination at this year’s Oscars.

This isn’t the first time Bale has gone to lengths to disguise himself for a new character.

For the role of insomniac Trevor Reznik in The Machinist he went to extremes that were, at the time, reported to be a record for the film industry. He dropped his body mass to 120 pounds on a meagre diet of water, an apple and one cup of coffee a day, according to his former assistant.

Filmmakers reportedly refused to let Bale lose any more weight once he reached that point. It sounds quite horrific, but that role helped him when he had to lose weight again to play Dick “Dicky” Eklund in The Fighter.

To mark the release of Vice, here are 10 more of the most famous on-screen transformations:

Vice is out in cinemas now