Throughout sports history, there might not be a moment that has perfectly encapsulated defeat and an end of an era as Y.A. Tittle's blood-gushing photo of him sitting in his opposition's endzone with a shattered sternum and concussion. While his fall from grace might have been perfectly captured, Y.A. Tittle's legacy as one of the greatest that still stands even after his recent death in October 2017, at the age of 90. Tittle would go on to play running back, defensive back, and quarterback for Louisiana State University from 1944 to 1947. While a member of the LSU Tigers Tittle would break the standing school records for completions (162), passing yards (2,525), and passing touchdowns (23). Tittle was unable to help his Tiger team solidify an SEC Championship after his pants fell causing him to trip during an interception run back on the final play of the game his senior year.
After becoming renowned for his play at the collegiate level, Tittle was drafted 6th overall in the 1948 NFL Draft by the Detriot Lions. However, despite being drafted by the Lions, Tittle began his pro football career as a member of the Baltimore Colts of the All-America Football Conference (AAFC). After being voted the AAFC Rookie of the Year and playing two seasons with the Colts, Tittle was drafted by the San Francisco 49ers in the 1951 NFL Draft where he would play ten seasons with the team and become a 4x Pro Bowler and lead the NFL in passing touchdowns in 1955. In 1960, Tittle was traded to the New York Giants when he was considered past his prime but would go on to lead the Giants to three consecutive NFL Championship games from 1961-1963 earning him an additional three Pro Bowl invites. After the 1964 season, Tittle retired but is regarded as one of the most competitive and respected quarterbacks to ever take the field.
Celebrities are no strangers to changing their looks for a role. And in some instances, they have to get pretty extreme. From 500-calorie-a-day diets to drinking pints of ice cream, Actors and actresses know what it takes to change their bodies in preparation for a new film.
Charlize Theron is no stranger to gaining and losing weight for movie roles, as we remember her transformation in Monster. Charlize Theron gained close to 50 pounds for her role as Marlo in Tully. Theron said that “for the first time in my life I was eating so much processed foods and I drank way too much sugar. … I remember having to set my alarm in the middle of the night in order to just maintain the weight.”
You’re used Chris Hemsworth's hulk-like figure in Thor, but In the Heart of the Sea required a totally different diet. The movie required the cast members lose a ton of weight to make their stuck-at-sea plight more believable. Chris Hemsworth said there were days when all he ate was one boiled egg, a couple of crackers, and a celery stick.
Anne Hathaway wanted to get serious for her role in Les Misérables, as she was playing Fantine, a starving prostitute with tuberculosis. So Anne Hathaway went on a diet of “rabbit food” to drop 25 pounds. Hathaway explained her diet was essentially just starving herself, but she didn’t want to give details, as she doesn’t want to encourage anyone to copy her emaciated look. She did note that she “just had to stop eating for a total of 13 days shooting,” however. And at one point, her bones became so frail that she reportedly broke her arm.
Matthew McConaughey's portrayal of Ron Woodruff in Dallas Buyers Club, a man with HIV/AIDS, was spot-on, earning him the title of best actor at the Oscars. But it also required a serious physical transformation. Matthew McConaughey said he lost 38 pounds for the role. During filming, he said he lost a lot of energy from eating so little — and he hit plenty of plateaus along the way. Finally, with a strict diet, he got down to 143 pounds. And while he did cardio to help with the weight loss, he said it was 90% what he was eating and portion size.
Hilary Swank had to put on 23 pounds of pure muscle for her role as a boxer in Million Dollar Baby. The process doesn’t sound easy, however. “I started working out five hours a day — I had to eat 210 grams of protein a day,” Swank said. She also mentioned that she had to consume 60 egg whites per day, and when that proved too difficult, she had to drink them. And to keep the muscle on, she would get up and drink protein shakes in the middle of the night.