"I was cast as Lenin in 'Travesties.' At the time I had lots more hair, and a bald pate wasn't going to cut it in the small theater, so I shaved—but only the top, leaving the sides. I also grew the 'stache and beard. When a stranger asked me away from the show if I knew I looked just like V.I. Lenin, I felt like it was worth it."
—Timothy Hill, Portland, Ore.
"I had go au naturale with no makeup, dirt on my face, and had pseudo sweat poured on me for an apocalypse military scene. Loads of fun."
—May Zayan, Studio City, Calif.
"As Kid USA, a 15-year veteran of pro wrestling, I have portrayed various characters, but my role as stunt double in 'The Wrestler' has been my most extreme. I spent up to four hours a day in hair and makeup, being prepared to work as Randy 'The Ram' Robinson: adding 16-inch hair extensions; airbrushing over my four large tattoos with primer, color, and sealer; adding five 'Ram' peel-and-stick tattoos and three prosthetic scars—heart operation, shoulder operation, and embedded glass. Then hand-painted barbed-wire cuts and bruises from foreign objects and lots of blood. After the final take, it was back to hair and makeup for another hour to remove all the art—making me, me once again. A big thanks to hair, makeup, prosthetics, and the 'Wrestler' staff."
—Armond Cecere, Long Island, N.Y.
"The most extreme change I made for a role was growing a mustache and wearing it for a month during shooting. Only for a film!"
—Jason D. King (shown left), Alexandria, Va.
"I'm hardly what anyone would ever call 'put together.' I'm not exactly a 'horror,' either. But for a one-woman stage performance I once did, where my character was an unattractive prisoner and addict, I went all out. I wore my hair in braids till it looked like a mat on my head; lost sleep, partially due to nerves, increasing the rings under my eyes and hollowed look in my face; and lost a little weight. Actually had to work like this. But the effect when I put on my prison jumpsuit and took the stage—I'd do it all over again."
—Aba Woodruff, New York