Alia Bhatt to Anne Hathaway: 8 actors whose challenging roles affected them deeply

Various actors have come out and disclosed how some of their roles pushed them to the edge and ended up affecting their personal lives.

By: Siddhant Pandey |
October 12, 2017 8:29 pm

Being an actor might be a glamourous job, but it does seem to have its downfalls. While sometimes, it may feel great to experience what it’s like to be in someone else’s skin, several actors find it a bit hard to shake off their characters. However fictional, some characters have a tendency to latch on to the actor and refuse to let go.

Various actors have come out and disclosed how some of their roles pushed them to the edge and ended up affecting their personal lives. Here are 9 such actors whose were deeply affected by the roles they played onscreen:

1. Varun Dhawan in Badlapur

Varun Dhawan’s portrayal of Raghu in Badlapur earned him wide acclaim, however, the role affected his personal life. The tragic revenge plot of the made Dhawan lose touch with himself. “Badlapur messed me up and I had gone crazy,” the actor stated. “So many people around me left me and one of them was my girlfriend.”

2. Nawazuddin Siddiqui in Raman Raghav 2.0

Nawazuddin Siddiqui is one of the most appreciated actors in this age. He is known to take on challenging roles and last year, he was seen in the exciting psychological thriller film Raman Raghav 2.0. However, the portrayal of a brutal serial killer in the movie really disturbed Siddiqui. He says that he got so immersed in the portrayal of the character that he lost focus of what is right and what isn’t.

He said, “Somewhere I could not tell what is right and what is wrong. Those lines in my life got blurred. Then what happens is that film gets completed but it stills remains alive in your life as it is said that ‘if you take something from the character then it also takes a lot of things out of your life.”

3. Anushka Sharma in NH10

Anushka Sharma’s performance in NH10 earned her wide critical acclaim and also, a Filmfare nomination for Best Actress. But, it did not come easy. Reportedly, the movie was physically and emotionally taxing and drove the actress to depression. “I was in depression when I did the scene of being molested in NH10,” she had said. “Being punched, kicked in stomach and all that, I was just thinking how humans can be this way. We aren’t exposed to so much in life other than reading in newspaper. But to shoot such scenes are extremely traumatising.”

4. Ranveer Singh in Padmavati

While Padmavati still awaits its release, reports have surfaced that actor Ranveer Singh got too emotionally involved in the role of Alauddin Khilji. Reportedly, he isolated himself and stayed locked inside his apartment to get into the character’s mindset. However, aside from leading to a (hopefully) iconic performance, it also affected his behaviour towards people, so much so, that he required psychiatric help to feel like himself again.

5. Kate Winslet in The Reader and Revolutionary Road

Kate Winslet is an established Hollywood actress and has even been acknowledged with an Academy Award for her performance in the 2008 film The Reader. The heart-rending romantic drama is one of Winslet’s best works so far, including another tragic film Revolutionary Road, which was released the same year. However, the collective effect of the two characters left her shattered. “Playing all of those things simultaneously drove me insane,” said Winslet. “At the end of both of these experiences, I felt like I couldn’t speak.”

6. Alia Bhatt in Udta Punjab

Alia Bhatt has proven herself to be a talented actress and the 2016 film Udta Punjab only added to her fame. However, the actress has spoken about a certain gang rape scene in the film that she found to be emotionally challenging. She has said that while shooting the scene, all she wanted was for it to get over and afterwards, she even dreaded going to the set.

7. Eijaz Khan in Laut Aao Trisha

While portraying the “dark” character of Kabir in the TV series Laut Aao Trisha, Eijaz Khan felt himself slipping as the lines between real and reel got blurry. “I had to undergo therapy for depression, and it made me realise that I was superimposing my childhood memories to play the part,” he said. The experience even led to his breakup.

8. Anne Hathaway in Les Miserables

Anne Hathaway’s portrayal of Fantine in Les Misérables was phenomenal to say the least. She grabbed her first Academy Award for the role but it left her “in a state of deprivation, physical and emotional.” For the role, she had to starve herself to drop 25 pounds which, on top of the character’s discomfort, really exhausted her, so much so, she couldn’t even celebrate her Oscar win. Speaking about how she felt while accepting the award, she said, “I felt very uncomfortable.” She added, “I kind of lost my mind doing that movie and it hadn’t come back yet.”

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