Stars Who Ruined Their Teeth or Hair Permanently for a Movie Role

Actors in Hollywood are known for fully committing to their roles, often going to great lengths to look the part. This can mean more than just using makeup; some stars have even intentionally changed their bodies, risking their dental health or hair, to convincingly portray a character. Unfortunately, these choices can lead to lasting damage that takes years to fix, or may even require permanent medical treatment.

Shia LaBeouf

For his role in the war movie ‘Fury’, the actor felt that standard makeup wasn’t realistic enough. He went to a dentist and actually had a tooth removed to better portray the character’s rough appearance. He also cut his own face with a knife to create authentic scars. The tooth was permanently missing and later replaced with an implant after filming finished. These extreme measures showed just how committed he was to making his performance feel real.

Keira Knightley

Keira Knightley damaged her hair from years of dyeing it for different acting roles. The constant chemical treatments caused significant hair loss, so much so that she had to wear wigs for five years to let her hair grow back and heal. She explained that repeatedly changing her hair color weakened the hair itself, and it took a long time and dedicated care to get her hair healthy again.

Nicolas Cage

Nicolas Cage is famous for his unique acting style and went to incredible lengths to prepare for the film ‘Birdy’. He actually had two of his baby teeth pulled without pain relief, wanting to truly experience the pain his character would feel. This left him with permanent gaps in his smile that he later had fixed with dental work. Cage felt this physical experience would help him better portray the suffering of the Vietnam veteran he played. It’s now a well-known example of extreme method acting in Hollywood.

Robert De Niro

To convincingly play the frightening character of Max Cady in ‘Cape Fear’, Robert De Niro drastically altered his appearance, even paying a dentist to file down his teeth. He aimed for a menacing, unkempt look, and the process involved reshaping his teeth to appear jagged and damaged. After filming, he needed extensive and costly dental work – including veneers and crowns – to repair the permanent changes. This dedication to his role highlighted his commitment to acting.

Emilia Clarke

As a huge ‘Game of Thrones’ fan, I remember being shocked when Emilia Clarke had to chop off most of her hair. Apparently, transforming into Daenerys Targaryen really took a toll! She has naturally dark hair, but to get that iconic platinum blonde look for the Mother of Dragons, she had to bleach it constantly. It ended up seriously damaging her hair, making it super short, brittle, and basically fried. She had to bite the bullet and go for a pixie cut just to get rid of all the damaged ends and let it grow back healthy. She’s said she really regrets putting her hair through all that and definitely won’t be doing anything like that again – and honestly, I don’t blame her!

Robert Pattinson

While filming ‘Good Time’, Robert Pattinson damaged his hair by repeatedly bleaching and dyeing it for the role. He noticed significant hair loss, with clumps falling out due to the harsh chemical treatments. It took months for his hair to recover, and he had to be careful with styling it during that time. This experience has made him hesitant to accept roles that require frequent and drastic hair color changes.

Jennifer Lawrence

Jennifer Lawrence significantly damaged her hair while filming ‘The Hunger Games’ movies. Repeatedly dyeing her hair from blonde to dark brown for her role as Katniss Everdeen caused a lot of damage. Her hair became so unhealthy that she ultimately decided to cut it into a short pixie style. This allowed her to grow her hair back to its natural, healthy condition.

Tom Felton

Tom Felton, who played Draco Malfoy in the ‘Harry Potter’ films, had to bleach his hair every ten days for ten years to maintain the character’s look during filming. He said this constant bleaching seriously damaged his hair and scalp, and he was relieved when the series finished so he could stop the damaging treatments. Since then, he’s gone back to his natural hair color and let his hair recover.

Carey Mulligan

Carey Mulligan experienced significant hair damage while filming ‘The Great Gatsby’. To get the right blonde color for her role, her hair was heavily bleached to match the 1920s style. This process severely damaged her hair, causing it to break and fall out. As a result, she had to keep her hair very short for an extended period. The experience showed the potential dangers of striving for a glamorous Hollywood look.

Austin Butler

Austin Butler dyed his hair completely black for his role as Elvis Presley, a transformation he maintained for years. He said the process severely damaged his hair, making it feel dry and brittle – like hay. After filming ended, he had a hard time getting his hair back to normal and vowed to never repeat such a drastic hair change. While the role brought him praise, it also left his hair in poor condition for a long time.

Charlize Theron

Charlize Theron drastically altered her appearance for her role as serial killer Aileen Wuornos in the movie ‘Monster’. To accurately portray the character’s difficult life, she wanted her hair to look thin and unhealthy. Rather than using a wig, she actually damaged her own hair with chemical treatments and strong dyes. It took months of intensive care to restore her hair to health after filming. This dedication to physical transformation was a significant factor in her Academy Award-winning performance.

Brad Pitt

For his role as Tyler Durden in ‘Fight Club’, Brad Pitt actually had his front teeth deliberately chipped. He believed his naturally perfect smile didn’t suit the character of a gritty, underground fighter. He asked his dentist to remove small pieces of either his veneers or enamel to create a rougher, more damaged look. Fortunately, he had the damage fixed as soon as filming finished. This detail added a realistic touch to the character’s tough appearance.

Rooney Mara

For her role in ‘The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo’, Mara completely changed her look. She shaved the sides of her head and dyed the rest of her hair black – a bold style that took months to grow out. She also bleached her eyebrows, dramatically altering her appearance. Despite the effort it took to return to her normal look, the actress fully committed to the character’s punk style.

Michelle Williams

Michelle Williams dyed her hair a striking platinum blonde for her role as Marilyn Monroe in ‘My Week with Marilyn’. Keeping that bright color required a lot of maintenance, which left her hair damaged, dry, and brittle. She said the process was unpleasant and hard to manage during filming. The damage was so significant that she had to keep her hair short for a while after the movie finished. She was committed to accurately portraying Monroe, even if it meant sacrificing the health of her hair.

Ed Helms

The gap-toothed smile Ed Helms had in ‘The Hangover’ wasn’t created with special effects. He actually had a dental implant removed before filming began! Helms had lost a tooth as a teen and thought it would be funnier to show the gap on screen. This meant he had to get a new implant put back in after they finished filming. It’s become one of the most iconic comedic moments in recent movies.

Alexander Skarsgård

For the movie ‘The Hummingbird Project’, Alexander Skarsgård shaved a strip of hair off the top of his head and maintained the unusual style throughout filming. He did this to fully commit to playing a tech entrepreneur, even though the look wasn’t traditionally flattering. It took a significant amount of time for his hair to grow back normally, and the process involved some awkward stages. This dedication to an unglamorous appearance was a change of pace for the actor, who is often known for playing handsome characters.

Cameron Diaz

For her role in ‘Being John Malkovich’, Cameron Diaz intentionally damaged her hair to achieve a specific look. She got a frizzy perm that made it appear dry and messy, which unfortunately harmed her hair’s health and made it hard to style. It took a long time for her hair to recover and become smooth again. Critics admired her willingness to change her appearance for the sake of the character.

Johnny Depp

For his role as Captain Jack Sparrow in ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’, Johnny Depp had gold caps attached to his teeth. He wore them throughout the films for such a long time that they reportedly caused problems with his real teeth. Putting on and taking off the caps can damage tooth enamel and gums, and he supposedly needed root canals and other dental procedures later on. While the pirate’s smile became famous, it ultimately led to dental problems for Depp.

Emma Stone

Emma Stone is naturally blonde, but she frequently dyes her hair red for movie roles, which damages it. When she went platinum blonde for ‘The Amazing Spider-Man,’ her hair suffered even more. Constantly switching between red dye and bleach has made her prioritize hair care. She’s talked about how hard it is to keep her hair healthy with so much coloring. To prevent breakage, Stone regularly uses conditioning treatments and glazes.

Nicole Kidman

Nicole Kidman famously dyed her hair a bright red for the movie ‘Moulin Rouge’ to fit the historical look. But the strong coloring damaged her naturally curly hair, so she started wearing wigs in later films to keep it healthy. She realized that constantly using dyes wasn’t a good long-term solution for her career and now focuses on keeping her hair healthy whenever she can, preferring wigs over chemical treatments.

Viggo Mortensen

You know, one of the craziest things I heard about making ‘The Two Towers’ is that Viggo Mortensen actually chipped his tooth during one of the fight scenes! Can you believe it? He was so dedicated, he even offered to just glue the piece back on himself and keep filming! Thankfully, the crew wouldn’t let him, and they rushed him to a dentist during lunch to get a cap. It ended up being a permanent fix, but he honestly seemed to brush it off like it was no big deal – just a small price to pay for being part of such an incredible film.

Florence Pugh

Florence Pugh often changes her hair color for her movie roles, like in ‘Don’t Worry Darling.’ She’s shown fans how damaged her hair gets from all the bleaching, often becoming brittle and needing to be cut shorter. While she enjoys transforming her look, it requires a lot of work from her stylists to keep her hair healthy. Pugh accepts that these changes impact the condition of her hair.

Anne Hathaway

For the powerful scene in ‘Les Misérables’, Anne Hathaway actually let them cut her hair on camera. The cut was intentionally rough and uneven to show how desperate her character was. Although her hair grew back, the experience was upsetting, and she had a short hairstyle for more than a year, even while attending red carpet events. This dedication to the role ultimately helped her win an Academy Award.

Matthew McConaughey

For the movie ‘Gold’, Matthew McConaughey dramatically changed his appearance. He shaved his head and gained weight to portray the character, and maintained a closely shaved head throughout filming. This meant his scalp was exposed to the sun and weather, and growing his hair back was a slow and sometimes awkward process. McConaughey fully embraced this less-than-glamorous transformation to convincingly show his character’s downward spiral.

Christian Bale

Christian Bale is famous for dramatically changing his weight for roles, but he also completely transforms his appearance. For the movie ‘The Fighter,’ he thinned his hair to appear sickly and aged, and even stopped practicing good dental hygiene to convincingly portray a drug addict. These methods temporarily impacted his health and how he looked. Despite the risks, Bale continues to be one of the most dedicated and transformative actors in Hollywood.

Tell us which transformation shocked you the most in the comments.

2026-01-31 04:54