Matt Damon ‘went too far’ shedding 50lbs in 100 days for film position that had excessive well being penalties

Matt Damon misplaced round 50 kilos in simply 100 days for 1996 warfare thriller Braveness Below Hearth – a job which might have an incredible affect on his well being, in addition to the trajectory of his profession.

Set in the course of the Persian Gulf Struggle, Damon performs supporting character Specialist Andrew Ilario, a military medic who’s affected by a heroin habit and survivor’s guilt.

Regardless of solely having a handful of scenes within the movie, a younger Damon was extraordinarily devoted to his craft, deciding to shed 50 kilos (over three-and-a-half stone or 22kg) in simply over three-and-a-half months, creating the character’s extraordinarily malnourished look within the movie.

As a way to lose the burden so shortly, Damon adopted a strict eating regimen and exercise routine, surviving off hen, egg whites, steamed broccoli and baked potatoes whereas working 12 miles a day.

The intense eating regimen led to 5ft 11in Damon dropping to round 135lb [61kg].

“I needed to be skinny and went on an unsupervised eating regimen which may have killed me,” he advised The One Present throughout a 2022 look.

“All I ate was hen breast. It’s not like I had a chef or something, I simply made it up and did what I believed I needed to do,” he continued.

“I simply made it up, and that was extremely difficult.”

A eating regimen which does not take a nutritionist to determine can be taxing on the physique, with the strict routine inevitably having an affect on the 55-year-old’s well being.

Damon ended up needing medical supervision, being warned that his actions may have led to him completely shrinking his coronary heart.

The eating regimen additionally meant the actor did not ‘must act in any respect’ as he was left feeling weak and unwell from his excessive eating regimen.

“I used to be a wreck,” he recalled. “I used to be getting dizzy spells and scorching flashes. I did not say something to anybody for some time as a result of I used to be afraid I may be actually sick.

“I went too far. I bought sick and I would not do this once more as a result of it was simply an excessive amount of. On the identical time, it helped the efficiency.”

Whereas the efficiency had a unfavourable affect on Damon’s well being, it did assist increase his profession in Hollywood. His efficiency caught the attention of Francis Ford Coppola, who went on to solid him in 1997’s The Rainmaker. The movie additionally caught the attention of Steven Spielberg, who later solid him in Saving Non-public Ryan.