Jared Leto recently revealed he shed up to 40 pounds in a stunning transformation as a transsexual woman living with HIV/AIDS in the '80s for "Dallas Buyers Club." Here are 21 other recent performances that made us do a double take: 
Ashton Kutcher had the good fortune of looking like Steve Jobs' long-lost cousin, so transforming himself into the icon of innovation didn't take much. But it's amazing what the haircut, glasses and beard can do, right? 
For 2014's "Guardians of the Galaxy," Chris Pratt gave up beer for six months ... and wound up looking like this. 
Matthew McConaughey lost nearly 40 pounds to portray a man diagnosed with HIV/AIDS in the December release "Dallas Buyers Club." 
David O. Russell's December release "American Hustle" is set in the '70s, and part of the fun of the film is seeing Bradley Cooper's impressive perm. 
Elizabeth Banks' comedic timing is as sharp as ever in "The Hunger Games," but her makeup job is a far cry from how we're used to seeing her. 
Daniel Day-Lewis looked presidential enough to appear on currency in 2012's "Lincoln." The actor portrayed the 16th president so thoroughly, he won an Oscar. 
In "Looper," Joseph Gordon-Levitt was made up to look more like his co-star, Bruce Willis. 
Meryl Streep won a best actress Oscar for her portrayal of British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in 2011's "The Iron Lady," and so did members of the makeup team behind her altered appearance. They told Entertainment Weekly they pulled it off by working around Streep's natural facial elements, such as her eyebrows. 
50 Cent had fans worried that he was truly ill when images surfaced of his role as a man suffering from cancer in "All Things Fall Apart." 
While we've seen him become extremely thin to play a character, Leto has also gone in the other direction. For "Chapter 27," he packed on 60 pounds to portray Mark David Chapman. 
Even if you don't remember 2008's "Tropic Thunder," you likely recall that Robert Downey Jr. was in blackface for his role. The controversial makeup choice was reflective of the lengths that Downey's method actor character, Kirk Lazarus, would go to portray a Vietnam War sergeant who was initially written as African-American. 
Charlize Theron's transformation into serial killer Aileen Wuomos was amazing -- she also won the best actress Oscar for 2003's "Monster." Gaining weight not only helped Theron fit the part, but she also wore makeup to create a less perfect complexion and a set of crooked, yellowed teeth. 
Nicole Kidman nabbed a best actress Oscar for her portrayal of Virginia Woolf in 2002's "The Hours." But the makeup job that changed her appearance -- aided greatly by a prosthetic nose that stirred debate -- didn't receive a nod. 
For his role as a man who aged in reverse in "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button," Brad Pitt "had to endure the most complicated and time-consuming makeup effects," sometimes spending five hours at a time in the makeup chair, producer Frank Marshall told Variety in 2008. 
Christian Bale's disturbingly gaunt frame in "The Machinist" is a legendary tale of going all out for a character. The actor famously dropped 63 pounds for the part by sticking to a diet of coffee, cigarettes and an apple a day. 
Heath Ledger's Joker was thrillingly unhinged in 2008's "The Dark Knight," and the makeup job was part of the package. Both the actor and the makeup team were nominated for Oscars, but it was Ledger who was honored posthumously with the award. 
When she landed the part of Lisbeth Salander in 2011's "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo," fresh-faced Rooney Mara got a severe haircut in an inky hue, bleached her brows and pierced her nose, lip, eyebrow and nipple. 
Critics heaped praise on Marion Cotillard's award-winning portrayal of French icon Edith Piaf in 2007's "La Vie en Rose." The physical part of her transformation into Piaf took patience, with Cotillard's role demanding five hours in a makeup chair. 
Eddie Murphy has a knack for portraying multiple characters in the same film, and in 1988's "Coming to America," he played Prince Akeem and comedic barbershop gentleman Saul (pictured, right) among others. Makeup artist Rick Baker earned an Oscar nod for his work. 
Julianne Moore was tasked with convincingly portraying Sarah Palin in HBO's 2012 movie "Game Change" and implicit in doing so was looking the part. Moore pulled it off, picking up an Emmy in the process. Among those she thanked? Her hair and makeup team, of course. 
The makeover for Eric Stoltz in 1985's "Mask" was astounding as Stoltz portrayed "Rocky" Dennis, a boy trying to live a normal life with the disorder lionitis. The transformation picked up an Oscar for best makeup. 
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- Jared Leto stars with Matthew McConaughey in upcoming "Dallas Buyers Club"
- The actor/musician says he lost 30 to 40 pounds for role
- Leto portrays a transsexual woman living with HIV in the 1980s
- Critics have raved about both actors' performances
(CNN) -- Matthew McConaughey wasn't the only "Dallas Buyers Club" actor pushing his body to the limit.
Co-star Jared Leto recently revealed to The Wrap that he lost 30 to 40 pounds for his role as a transsexual living with HIV in the 1980s.
To get down to 114 pounds, "I stopped eating," Leto said, adding that such a drastic physical change had an impact beyond the scale.
"It changes the way you walk, the way you sit, the way you think," the 41-year-old musician and actor said.
McConaughey: First burger post-diet was as good as I hoped
But Leto, who hasn't done a film in roughly four years, has altered his appearance for previous roles, including gaining weight to play Mark David Chapman in 2007's "Chapter 27."
As he told New York magazine's Vulture in 2012, "it's not about the most weight I can lose, it's more to represent the character."
While fasting to portray his "Dallas Buyers" character Rayon, Leto said he was meditating on "what it means to be a transsexual woman."
It looks like his hard work -- and that of co-stars McConaughey and Jennifer Garner, who portrays a physician -- paid off. "Dallas Buyers Club" received good reviews when it premiered over the weekend at the Toronto International Film Festival.
The film, based on a true story and directed by Jean-Marc Vallee ("The Young Victoria"; "C.R.A.Z.Y."), stars McConaughey as a homophobic, hell-raising cowboy who refuses to accept his doctors' warnings he only has 30 days to live after being diagnosed with HIV in the mid-'80s.
McConaughey lost 38 pounds to play the gaunt Woodroof, who went against the medical system and set off across international borders to round up HIV treatments. Using an entrepreneurial hustler's spirit, he then sells the treatments to those in need through his "Dallas Buyers Club."
'Dallas Buyers Club': Watch Matthew McConaughey's transformation
The Hollywood Reporter called the film an "enthralling drama" told with "vigor and an assured light touch" and said the star's portrayal of Woodroof is "a full-bodied characterization that will take McConaughey's already impressive career regeneration several steps further."
The review praised Leto, too, calling him "simply wonderful ... in the showier supporting role."
Variety also commented how well McConaughey inhabited his character, saying that "any doubts that still exist" about the 43-year-old star's talent will be "permanently put to rest."
"But McConaughey's is not the only performance of note in this riveting and surprisingly relatable true story," Variety said, complimenting Leto for his "sensitive, considerate" characterization.
The industry trade predicted that "rave reviews for both actors should draw mainstream (audiences) to one of the year's most vital and deserving indie efforts."
Audiences will find out if Variety's correct when "Dallas Buyers Club" opens November 1.
