50 Cent previously spoke out about on his extreme transformation for a 2011 film that people initially thought was a hoax.
Fans of the rap legend were taken aback when images resurfaced of the star during the production of one of his previous films.
While the ‘Candy Shop’ rapper might be mainly known for his music, he’s got quite a hefty acting career going too with roles in the likes of Power, Expend4bles and 13.
In 2011, the 49-year-old starred in All Things Fall Apart alongside Ray Liotta, Mario Van Peebles and Lynn Whitfield.
Advert
Real name Curtis Jackson, he played an American football player who had hopes of making it pro. However, the running back named Deon falls ill from a genetic disease, turning his life upside down and crushing his sport dreams.
In order to play the cancer-stricken footballer, 50 Cent dropped from 214 (97kg) pounds to 160 (72.5kg) in nine weeks by following a liquid-only diet and running on a treadmill for three hours a day.
And when you look at the images of his transformation, you’d be forgiven for not thinking it’s the ‘In Da Club’ rapper at all. The difference is staggering.
Rumours spread at the time it was all a hoax as people couldn’t believe the star had really lost such a huge amount of weight.
While it was a pretty tough process for the actor, it wasn’t particularly new as he explained that when he was shot in the jaw in 2000, he could only consume liquids and dropped his weight even more dramatically.
“This time it was a lot tougher for me,” he told the Associated Press at the time.
“I had to discipline myself not … to actually have myself be in the physical state to convey the energy I felt. It’s a passion project for me.”
When he was struggling with keeping off the weight, he took to researching the transformation of other actors. Christian Bale famously dropped eight stone for his role in The Machinist and Robert De Niro took on a similar transformation for Cape Fear.
“I actually got on the computer,” 50 Cent said. “When it started getting difficult, I was looking to see what their experience was like and I got a chance to see all of the interviews they had at different time periods when they were doing promotion for the projects.”
After the film wrapped, the star assured he’d be ‘back in shape in no time’ and ready to tour.
Topics: 50 Cent, TV and Film, Celebrity
Jess Battison