10 Actors Who Mastered Insane Skills For Their Roles

Sometimes Actors Go to Great Lengths To Get Into Their Roles

Actors have to do much more than just deliver lines. They have to convince the audience that they truly belong to their character’s world. Sometimes, besides acting, they need additional skills to play the role to perfection. From learning to play instruments to flying a helicopter, here are 10 actors who learned exceptional skills for their roles.

1. Chadwick Boseman learned to play the trumpet for “Ma Rainey's Black Bottom”

Late actor Chadwick Boseman showed true commitment for his final film, “Ma Rainey's Black Bottom”, by learning to play the trumpet from scratch. He played the role of a troubled instrumentalist looking to break into the music world. One of Boseman's co-stars Glynn Turman revealed that he practiced in his hotel room ahead of filming and even on the sets to master the instrument. Turman said that the actor’s dedication inspired everyone on the sets, as per PEOPLE.

2. Bryan Cranston learned to cook crystal meth for “Breaking Bad”

Bryan Cranston worked hard to make the role of the drug lord “Heisenberg” aka “Walter White” in “Breaking Bad” as convincing as possible. In an interview on the Howard Stern show, Cranston revealed that the cast prepped for their roles along with Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) chemists. As per Cranston, the team provided them with information on how to cook crystal meth. They also learned about the dangers associated with the illegal practice.

3. Robert Downey, Jr. learned to play the violin for “Chaplin”

For the film “Chaplin”, Robert Downey Jr. went the extra mile to portray the silent film legend accurately. Charlie Chaplin was known to carry his violin with him wherever he went. To make his portrayal convincing, Downey Jr. took violin lessons for over a year. Further, the task was made more difficult as he had to do it left-handed just as Chaplin did. The incredibly detailed film directed by Richard Attenborough, earned three Oscar nominations including one for the lead actor.

4. Adrien Brody learned classical piano for “The Pianist”

To portray the character of an accomplished pianist “Wladyslaw Szpilman”, a Polish Jewish radio station musician who struggled to survive in the Warsaw ghetto in World War II, actor Adrien Brody went “totally method” and mastered the classical piano. Director Roman Polanski reportedly made Brody practice four hours a day for “The Pianist”. With rigorous piano lessons and his dedication to the role, Brody was soon able to play the work of Frédéric Chopin, one of Szpilman’s favorite composers, as per Buzzfeed.

5. Margot Robbie learned to skate for “I, Tonya”

Margot Robbie played the role of the disgraced Olympic figure skater Tonya Harding in the film “I, Tonya” going great lengths to deliver a transformative performance. Robbie reportedly took ice skating lessons for four hours a day, five days a week for five months, as per Buzzfeed. Sarah Kawahara, who worked as her coach for the film, told Backstage that Robbie had to work hard to not just learn ice skating but be comfortable enough on the ice to deliver dialogues while skating and appear graceful doing it.

6. Kate Winslet learned to free-dive for “Avatar 2”

In the much-anticipated sequel of James Cameroon’s “Avatar”, Kate Winslet trained hard to perform the underwater scenes as she played the role of a "water person". She reportedly trained how to dive without the use of breathing apparatus like scuba gear, and to hold her breath for extensive periods. Winslet eventually broke the record amongst the cast for holding her breath for the longest time, a whopping seven minutes and 14 seconds. In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Winslet revealed that the experience was crazy but incredible.

7. Tom Cruise learned to fly a helicopter for “Mission Impossible: Fallout”

Tom Cruise is known for performing all his stunts and pushing his limits for his action-packed films. However, his work for the “Mission Impossible” franchise, stands out as an exception. For the film “Mission Impossible: Fallout”, Cruise had to shoot an epic helicopter action sequence. As always, Cruise decided to do the stunt on his own and spent over 2,000 hours in helicopter and trained to become an expert flyer, as per Dailymotion.

8. Channing Tatum learned to tap dance for “Hail, Caesar!”

Actor Channing Tatum first showed off his dancing skills in the movie “Step Up” and then in “Magic Mike.” Thus, he seemed to be fitting to play the role of Burt Gurney in the film “Hail, Caesar!”. However, in an interview with Vulture, Tatum revealed that he didn’t know how to tap and to perform his six-minute tap dancing scene he had to undergo months of preparation. Tatum said he took three months to prepare for the scene and got to a point where he was worried that he would drill it to a point where it would get unhealthy.

9. Uma Thurman learned kung fu, sword fighting and Japanese for “Kill Bill”

Uma Thurman, who played the iconic role of “The Bride” in the “Kill Bill” movies, had to go through extensive training to become one of the best fighters in cinema history. To portray the part convincingly, Thurman along with other members of the cast had to train eight hours a day for three months and director Quentin Tarantino reviewed their progress every week. Thurman learned three styles of kung fu, two styles of sword fighting, knife throwing, knife fighting, hand-to-hand combat, along with the Japanese language.

10. Jennifer Lawrence learned to skin a squirrel for “Winter’s Bone”

Jennifer Lawrence had to learn one of the strangest things to play the role of a survivalist “Ree Dolly” in the film “Winter Bone”. While Lawrence had mastered skills like archery for the “The Hunger Games” franchise, this time she had to learn how to skin a squirrel and some combat to appear convincing. Lawrence went through special training to learn the skill and in an interview with Vanity Fair, she revealed that it was one of the most disgusting things that she had to do for a film.