Opening this month is Creed II, the sequel to Ryan Coogler’s brilliantly fresh 2015 boxing movie. Once again, a pumped-up Michael B. Jordan dons satin shorts and gets busy in the ring, joining a long list of actors who’ve decided sport on film is a winner. And who can blame them? Sporting films are full of drama, high stakes and the chance of physical transformation – when it comes to performance, it’s a win-win!
Robert DeNiro in Raging Bull (1980)
If you’re talking about transformative performances in sports movies, there’s only one place to start. Back in 1980, Robert De Niro, at the top of his game, transformed himself physically to become boxer Jake LaMotta, packing on 60 pounds to trace his character’s journey from champ to chump. Scorsese postponed filming for four months while De Niro put on weight to play the once-great former boxer in his latter, fatter years. De Niro said: “The first 15lb was fun, the rest was hard work” – but he went on to win an Oscar for his efforts.
Margot Robbie in I, Tonya (2017)
Margot Robbie definitely earned her Oscar nod in this darkly-comic take on controversial ice skater Tonya Harding’s life story. Not only did she age up from schoolgirl to washed out former sports star but she also learnt how to skate, learning five routines over three months under the tutelage of Emmy winning choreographer, Sarah Kawahara. Robbie ended up with a herniated disk in her neck – but also some of the best reviews of her career.
Mickey Rourke in The Wrestler (2008)
Washed up, down on his luck wrestler Randy ‘The Ram’ Robinson proved to be just the comeback role actor Mickey Rourke needed to resuscitate his career in Darren Aronofsky’s sporting drama. His soulful portrayal of a wrestler tortured inside and out of the ring won him an Oscar nomination and seven months of exercise and eating six meals a day created 27 pounds of new Rourke muscle.
Natalie Portman in Black Swan (2010)
Although not strictly a sports movie, Natalie Portman’s performance in this dark and twisted ballet drama is certainly physical. She pirouetted and arabesqued her way to an Oscar for her portrayal of a prima ballerina mentally unravelling as she prepares for the role of a lifetime. Portman trained for over a year, dislocated a rib while filming and lived off a diet of carrots and almonds in preparation. There was an upside though – she also met her future husband, choreographer Benjamin Millepied.
Ben Cross in Chariots of Fire (1981)
Playing ambitious, intense olympian Harold Abrahams in 80s sporting classic Chariots of Fire wasn’t a bad film debut for actor Ben Cross. The small-scale British film won Best Picture at that year’s Oscars, and his performance, as well as that of his co-star Ian Charleson, caught Hollywood’s eye. Cross spent six months training before filming started, and by the time he shot his big 100m race he could run it in 11.6 seconds – just one second slower than the real Abrahams back in 1924.
Ralph Macchio in The Karate Kid (1984)
We will fight anyone who says that Ralph Macchio’s performance in The Karate Kid is anything but brilliant. Not only did he bring the character of Daniel LaRusso to life – he also had to endure a five-week karate boot camp with Tang Soo Do master black-belt Pat E. Johnson before filming began. Wax on, wax off.
Hilary Swank in Million Dollar Baby (2004)
Double Oscar-winner Swank won her second Academy Award for her role as determined amateur boxer, Maggie Fitzgerald in Clint Eastwood’s classic sporting weepie. She had a month and a half to get into shape, training six days a week and gaining 19 pounds of muscle. Her regime meant that she also had to wake up in the middle of the night to consume muscle-building protein. Listen up people – Oscar winners don’t need sleep!
Jake Gyllenhaal in Southpaw (2015)
He’d just lost 30 pounds to play a gaunt journalist in Nightcrawler and then Jake Gyllenhaal took the role of boxer Billy Hope in Southpaw and had to go completely the other way. To bulk up he hit the gym twice a day for six hours “enjoying” a workout which included 2000 sit-ups a day. Director Antoine Fuqua said Gyllenhaal turned “into a beast” in pursuit of the character.
Emma Stone in Battle of the Sexes (2017)
Fresh from her Oscar-winning turn in La La Land, Emma Stone hit the courts as tennis icon Billie Jean King in Battle of the Sexes. The film may not have got the attention expected but Stone’s performance as King certainly won over critics. As well as powerfully portraying a feminist and LGBT hero, Stone also had to learn how to play tennis, putting on 15 pounds of muscle through a strict regime of cardio, weight-lifting and protein powder shakes filled with almond milk and coconut oil!
Kevin Costner in Bull Durham (1988)
No list of performances in sports films is complete without Kevin Costner. He’s starred in films about American Football, Golf, Cycling but most of all he’s associated with Baseball. In Bull Durham he plays Crash Davis, a charismatic ageing catcher who falls for Susan Sarandon during the course of a season. Costner showed director Ron Shelton he should get the role after a drunken night out in a batting cage – and therefore he’s a winner in our book.
Check out Backstage’s UK audition listings!