History Main / DyeingForYourArt

* IngridBergman cut her hair quite short for her role in ''For Whom the Bell Tolls'', annoying Max Steiner, who wanted her to come back and re-shoot some ''Film/{{Casablanca}}'' scenes with an original song in place of "As Time Goes By".

** NoomiRapace (the actress who played Salander in the original Swedish films) deserves mention also. In addition to performing image alteration similar to Mara's [[note]] she trained relentlessly to become thin and wiry, dyed and chopped her hair, got pierced (nopstril, septum, eyebrow and ear) etc.[[/note]], Rapace took up smoking for real during filming [[note]] smoking convincingly is actually quite difficult for non-smokers to emulate, and she wanted to get it perfect[[/note]] and took to dressing and acting "in-character" even when not on camera...to the point where family and friends began to worry as to her sanity. There's a very good reason she refused to do the role again for the American remake.

* Averted in ''OnceUponATimeInTheWest''. Henry Fonda, CastAgainstType as Frank, initally wanted to drastically change his usual appearance by growing a beard and wearing brown contacts. Sergio Leone told him not to do it, as the shock of seeing Fonda as such a character was exactly why he hired him, and it would work best if he looked like he usually did.

** Creator/ScarlettJohansson became the redheaded Comicbook/BlackWidow (which also saw the return of another blonde dying her hair, Creator/GwynethPaltrow) for the sequel.

** They must have loved this trope in TheEighties: Colin Baker was blonded up, too. He actually gets slowly blonder and blonder during his run, with big jumps in colour between stories which happen immediately after each other, which again makes it very noticeable. At least it would fit the vain personality of the Sixth Doctor to bleach his hair.

NOTE: Christian Bale might be the absolute god of this trope. See: Memento, American Hustle, etc.

* ParkerPosey had a dentist attach "train track" braces to her teeth to play a yuppie caricature in ''BestInShow''. Michael Hitchcock as her character's husband settled for fake ones.
* RitaHayworth, was directed by husband OrsonWelles to cut and dye her famous long red hair for ''TheLadyFromShanghai''.
** And more hilariously, OrsonWelles himself lost weight to play Falstaff in ''[[HenryIV Chimes at Midnight]]''. That's right. Orson Welles was SO OVERWEIGHT that he had to slim down to '''[[FatBastard play]] [[LargeHam freakin']] [[BoisterousBruiser Falstaff]]!!!'''

** They must have loved this trope in TheEighties: Colin Baker was blonded up, too.

* SteveCarell's body-waxing scene in ''Film/TheFortyYearOldVirgin'' was [[PainfulBodyWaxing authentic]]. The results of the waxing are relevant to later scenes in the movie, so Carell had to have kept his chest hair in that condition for a while.

* ''StarWars'' Prequels:

* RobertDowneyJr gained 20 pounds of muscle to play [[Film/IronMan Tony Stark]] by adding weight training and significant diet changes to his usual Wing Chun training. Then he slimmed way down to play Film/SherlockHolmes, bulked ''back'' up to play Tony Stark again, slimmed ''back'' down to play Film/SherlockHolmes again, and bulked ''back'' up to play Tony Stark again.

* In the Granada ''SherlockHolmes'' series, David Burke, the first Dr. Watson, dyed his grey hair and mustache auburn to make himself look much younger.

* In addition to dying his hair, BenedictCumberbatch also lost a lot of weight for the independent film ''ThirdStar'' instead of opting to shave his head. He kept it this way for Sherlock, which he justified by pointing out Sherlock almost never eats unless he has to, but regained a bit by the second series.

* For the ''Film/{{X-Men}}'' movies, HughJackman, LievSchreiber, and RyanReynolds worked out to get ripped bodies, and FamkeJanssen dyed her hair red.
** Jackman has declared this when he was warned about [[XMenDaysOfFuturePast another X-Men]] during the shoot of ''TheWolverine'':

* Jennifer Hudson gained 30 pounds to play Effie White in ''{{Dreamgirls}}''. While Beyonce Knowles lost 20 pounds to play Deena in the same film.

* ChristianBale already had to buff up a lot for his role in ''AmericanPsycho''. A few years later he lost 63 pounds to appear in ''TheMachinist'' (2004), making him unhealthily underweight. (He actually shot for the exact weight of the character in the script, even as the director and the producers told him he was skinny enough. He was eating an apple and a can of tuna per day.) He then gained 40 pounds above his ''normal'' weight to play Franchise/{{Batman}} in ''Film/BatmanBegins'' (2005), Then he lost 20 pounds of that. Later, he again became underweight to play an inmate in a VietnamWar prisoner camp in ''Rescue Dawn''. Then he bulked up again to play Batman for the second time in ''Film/TheDarkKnight''. Then he went skeletal again to play a crack addict in ''TheFighter'' (2010). Then he played Batman again in ''Film/TheDarkKnightRises'' (2012). Then, he put on 43 pounds to play an overweight man in ''Film/AmericanHustle'' (2013). Let's just say Bale's refined Dyeing For Your Art to an art form itself.

* KarenGillan shaved her head for ''Film/GuardiansOfTheGalaxy''.

* ChristianBale already had to buff up a lot for his role in ''AmericanPsycho''. A few years later he lost 63 pounds to appear in ''TheMachinist'' (2004), making him unhealthily underweight. (He actually shot for the exact weight of the character in the script, even as the director and the producers told him he was skinny enough. He was eating an apple and a can of tuna per day.) He then gained 40 pounds above his ''normal'' weight to play Franchise/{{Batman}} in ''Film/BatmanBegins'' (2005), Then he lost 20 pounds of that. Later, he again became underweight to play an inmate in a VietnamWar prisoner camp in ''Rescue Dawn''. Then he bulked up again to play Batman for the second time in ''Film/TheDarkKnight''. Then he went skeletal again to play a crack addict in ''TheFighter'' (2010). Then he played Batman again in ''Film/TheDarkKnightRises'' (2012). Let's just say Bale's refined Dyeing For Your Art to an art form itself.

* StephenColbert had his head shaved to show solidarity for the troops when he took his show to Baghdad. It was hyping up having President BarackObama give the order to shave it, which was carried out by Gen. Ray Odierno, commander of the American forces in Iraq at the time. He made a RunningGag out of complaining about how slowly it was growing back.

* Gillian Anderson was asked to cut and dye her naturally long blonde hair into an auburn bob for the part of Dana Scully on ''Series/TheXFiles''.
** It was actually left long and blonde for the 2008 movie "I Want to Believe," which fit well with the character (who was supposed to be in hiding), but outraged fans at the change from the Scully they knew.
* [[MarxBrothers Groucho Marx]] never had a mustache most of his career; the comedic one he's always depicted with was a fairly obvious greasepaint job. When ''You Bet Your Life'' came along in his late career, he grew one so he could be at least partly recognizable.
* Jason Lee grew Earl's trademark 'stache for ''MyNameIsEarl'', because he felt like the character needed one.
* James Marsters dyed his hair platinum to play Spike on ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'' and ''Series/{{Angel}}''.

** She actually dyed her hair ''before she even got the part'', because people at the studio who didn't want her to be Blair kept using her hair color as a reason that she shouldn't be cast.

* Sacha Baron Cohen's actual facial hair is used for AliG and ''Film/{{Borat}}''.
** He also shaved his body hair to play ''Film/{{Bruno}}''.
* StephenColbert had his head shaved to show solidarity for the troops when he took his show to Baghdad,[[note]]Hyping up having ''[[BarackObama the President of the United States]]'' give the order to shave it, with said order being ''personally'' executed by Gen. Ray Odierno, commander of the American forces in Iraq at the time[[/note]] then made a RunningGag out of complaining about how slowly it was growing back.

** Also the case for ''TheWizardOfOz'': the "green" horses in the Emerald City got their verdant hues from something like Jell-O powder. Problems occurred when the horses took to [[ITasteDelicious licking the sweet powder off their fur]].

** For her role as a runaway teenage stripper in ''WelcomeToTheRileys'', she learned how to pole dance, deprived herself of sleep, chain-smoked, and ate mostly junk food. As a result her body and legs were covered with bruises, her skin was blemished, and she constantly looked tired.

** He had his infamously hairy body waxed/shaved for ''Literature/TheWorldAccordingToGarp'', ''Film/{{Hook}}'', and ''WorldsGreatestDad'', to make him look younger in the first two cases, and as for the third, well, he was naked at the end. Old, fat, and naked is bad enough, we don't need hairy. %% Sez you.
* Yul Brynner shaved his head for ''Theatre/TheKingAndI'', and (like Telly Savalas) didn't grow it back.
** He also bulked up during ''Film/TheTenCommandments'' because he didn't want to appear scrawny next to Charlton Heston....which is why he's so fit in ''The King and I''.

** He had his infamously hairy body waxed/shaved for ''TheWorldAccordingToGarp'', ''Film/{{Hook}}'', and ''WorldsGreatestDad'', to make him look younger in the first two cases, and as for the third, well, he was naked at the end. Old, fat, and naked is bad enough, we don't need hairy. %% Sez you.

* MattSmith lost his signature floppy locks for his part in ''How to Catch A Monster." Debate still rages over how well it suits him.

** PeterDavison had his hair highlighted to play the title role. This is particularly noticeable as it is considerably darker during his brief appearance at the end of ''Logopolis'' than it is in ''Castrovalva'', despite the fact that the latter is supposed to follow on immediately after the former.

* ReneeZellweger put on weight to play BridgetJones, then lost it ''all'' and then some to play Roxie Hart in ''Film/{{Chicago}}'' before putting it all back on again for ''BridgetJones 2''.

** What's more, Rita was already a DyeingForYourArt DyeHard, because she was a natural brunette who had to dye her hair red as part of a career RaceLift to cover up the fact she was Hispanic.

There are limitations to what can be done with stage makeup and padding. When performers make real changes to their physical appearance for a part, such that they look different in the mirror in the morning, that's commitment. That's DyeingForYourArt.

This entry does not cover those actors and actresses who dye their hair all the time for professional or personal reasons e.g. BilliePiper, [[NoDoubt Gwen Stefani]] and the late MarilynMonroe. They're DyeHard. Though the two can overlap sometimes if an actor prefers the hair color they were required to change to and keeps it that way.

* ChristianBale already had to buff up a lot for his role in ''AmericanPsycho''. A few years later he lost 63 pounds to appear in ''TheMachinist'' (2004), making him unhealthily underweight. (He actually shot for the exact weight of the character in the script, even as the director and the producers told him he was skinny enough. He was eating an apple and a can of tuna per day.) He then gained 40 pounds above his ''normal'' weight to play Franchise/{{Batman}} in ''Film/BatmanBegins'' (2005), Then he lost 20 pounds of that. Later, he again became underweight to play an inmate in a VietnamWar prisoner camp in ''Rescue Dawn''. Then he bulked up again to play Batman for the second time in ''Film/TheDarkKnight''. Then he went skeletal again to play a crack addict in ''TheFighter'' (2010). Then he played Batman again in ''Film/TheDarkKnightRises'' (2012). Let's just say Bale's refined DyeingForYourArt to an art form itself.
* HaydenChristensen ate six meals a day and spent hours in the gym in preparation for Anakin Skywalker's more muscular look in ''[[StarWars Revenge of the Sith]].''

* DanielDayLewis is the ''Mad Emperor'' of this trope, often engaging in obsessive levels of research and/or training to prepare for a role, sometimes [[CloudCuckoolander completely vanishing inside them]].

** InTheNameOfTheFather: lived in a prison cell and asked the crew to abuse him.
** ''My Left Foot'': refused to get out of character for the entire film shoot, actually suffering damage to his ribs from maintaining the same position for so long.
** TheLastOfTheMohicans: rigorous period-appropriate survivalist training, learning to hunt and live off the land.
** GangsOfNewYork: trained as a butcher and learned knife-throwing. Sought out old voice recordings to get as close to a period-appropriate New York accent as possible.
** For {{The Crucible}}, he built the house that John Proctor (his character) lived in in the film, and didn't shower or bathe at all during filming...''and this was the film in which he met his wife, Rebecca Miller...''

* Many current Creator/DisneyChannel Stars sport a hair color different from there natural color. It's still probably too soon to know whether they're DyeHard or [[DyeingForYourArt doing it for their art]], but to name a few.

* Thomas Jane trained with the Navy [=SEALs=] for about half a year and gained more than twenty pounds of muscle for his role in ''ThePunisher''.
* ValKilmer needed to look sickly for his role as Doc Holliday in ''{{Tombstone}}'', so he spent weeks leading up to the shoot eating almost nothing but onions and tomatoes.
** Ditto for Dennis Quaid for the same role in the competing KevinCostner vehicle ''Wyatt Earp''. Quaid lost so much weight that he lacked the energy to stand and had to take frequent rests between takes.
* TildaSwinton gained a significant amount of weight for her role in ''MichaelClayton''. She didn't seem to mind, though, as it meant she could basically eat everything she wanted until she met her target look.
* Vincent D'Onofrio gained ''70 pounds'' of fat to play Private Pyle in ''FullMetalJacket''. The added weight later caused the ligaments in his knees to tear up during the obstacle course scene.
** His next movie, which came out later in 1987, was ''AdventuresInBabysitting''. He looked like [[http://thelittlegoat.com/?p=1764 this]].
* ''ThreeHundred'': the actors look like they're capable of incredible feats of strength and endurance. They were trained by a mountaineer named Mark Twight not just to look like that, but to ''be'' like that. They weren't just playing humans [[CharlesAtlasSuperpower honed to Batman-like levels of physical might]]; they actually ''were'' humans honed to Batman-like levels of physical might.

* ''Franchise/{{Scream}}'': Rose McGowan went blonde to play Tatum, to contrast with brunette Neve Campbell. Emma Roberts did the inverse for the fourth film, darkening her hair to play Jill, an {{Expy}} for Campbell's Sidney.

* Ed Bishop dyed his hair white-blond for the role of Commander Straker in ''Series/{{UFO}}'', as the character's look was based on a character voiced by Bishop in ''CaptainScarletAndTheMysterons'', Captain Blue, but soon switched to a wig because the dye damaged his hair.