There is method acting and then there is extreme method acting. Here is a list of celebrities who went on unconventional diets to get into character for a film role. 

Matthew McConaughey is the latest celeb to join the list, losing more than 40 pounds for his role in this year's "Dallas Buyers Club." McConaughey plays Ron Woodruff, a Texas rodeo cowboy diagnosed with AIDS at the height of the AIDS epidemic in the 80s. The actor lost the weight through a fish and vegetables diet along with intense cardio. 

Rapper/Actor Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson known for his buff physique shocked fans in 2010 when he released pictures of himself looking frail. Jackson lost the weight for his role in the straight to DVD film "All Things Fall Apart." He played a football player battling cancer. Jackson ran three hours a day and stuck to a strict liquid diet. 

Christian Bale, who is notorious for dropping pounds at a moments notice, lost 63 pounds for 2004’s "The Machinist." Bale ate only 275 calories a day for four months.  Then in 2010 he went on another diet for his role in ‘The Fighter’. He played crack addict boxer Dicky Eklund. In an interview with Access Hollywood, Bale said he didn’t track his weight loss for the role but was focused on achieving the look of a crack addict. 

Similarly, Tom Hanks has also transformed his body more than once for a movie role. In 1993, Hanks lost 30 pounds to play AIDS patient Andrew Beckett in "Philadelphia." He would later win an Oscar for his performance. Hanks took it a step further in 2000 when he lost 50 pounds after gaining a few pounds for "Castaway." He played Chuck Noland, an out of shaped Fed Ex worker who ends ups being a plane crash survivor. Shooting for the film was stopped until Hanks lost the weight to show the contrast of Noland before and after surviving the plane crash. Hanks put himself on a dangerous diet of just salads that had his physicians worried. 

SEE ALSO: Celebrity Men Lose Weight

Singer/Actress Beyoncé Knowles used Tom Hanks's weight loss for "Castaway" as an inspiration for her role as Deena Jones in "Dream Girls." Knowles lost 20 pounds in 2 weeks on a Master Cleanse liquid diet. She also worked out daily. 

Mila Kunis and Natalie Portman both lost an estimated 20 pounds for their roles in 2010’s "Black Swan." Portman attributed her weight loss to daily intense ballet training.  

Anne Hathaway dropped 25 pounds for her Oscar winning role as Fantine in "Les Miserables." Hathaway’s stuck to diet of oatmeal paste and water. 

Last, but not least, Matt Damon was left with adrenal gland damage after losing 40 pounds for his role as an heroin addict in "Courage Under Fire." He ran daily and ate only egg whites, chicken breast, and one baked potato daily. He also drank coffee and smoked cigarettes. 

Reach Staff Reporter Lamarana Diallo here.