In the movie, "Things Fall Apart," 50 Cent plays a football player who has been diagnosed with cancer. For the part, the rapper, who oddly enough developed a vitamin water drink called Formula 50 with Glaceau (which Coca-Cola now owns from a transaction that reportedly netted 50 Cent $100 million), lost the weight by going on a liquid diet and three-hour-a-day treadmill walks. He said he had underwent the regimen in order to give the film's character an air of authenticity.
"I was starving," he wrote. However, he noted that he was back on tour. "I've been eating. I'll be back in shape in no time!"
And this isn't the first time 50 Cent dropped weight for a movie. After being involved in a steroid controversy in 2008, MTV reported that the rapper dropped to 185 pounds from over 200 pounds for a role in the movie, "Microwave Park," where he co-starred with Val Kilmer and Sharon Stone.
Even after losing 54 pounds, 50 Cent, whose real name is Curtis Jackson, still hasn't lost as much weight as Tom Hanks did for "Castaway." Hanks lost between 55-60 pounds over the period of a year playing marooned Andrew Beckett, wasting away on an island in the Pacific. Hanks had had practice, though, having lost 26 pounds for his Oscar-winning role in "Philadelphia," where he played the picture of a desperate but determined man dying of AIDS who sues his former employers for wrongful termination (discrimination).
But Christian Bale, most famous for his role as "Batman," seems to have lost the most weight for a movie role. He lost 62 pounds for his part in "The Machinist" as Trevor Reznik, a man who was plagued with insomnia for a year. It took four months to lose the weight. The skin-and-bones actor didn't stay emaciated long and he bulked up nicely for his role as Bruce Banner in "Batman Begins," which was released in 2005.
50 Cent also co-produced the movie "Things Fall Apart." He co-stars with Ray Liotta and the film is directed by Mario Van Peebles. It is due for release in 2011.