Matthew McConaughey’s Beer-and-Burger Diet Netted Him Nearly 50 Pounds

Academy Award-winning actor Matthew McConaughey has put his body through the wringer before for some of his roles, and he did so once again for his latest star turn. McConaughey packed on 47 pounds for his role in Gold, and the photos of his transformation will certainly turn some heads.

The 47-year-old Texas native stars in Gold as Kenny Wells, a businessman who partners with a geologist to mine for gold in the jungles of Indonesia. The film was released to select theaters in December 2016, before its wider release on Jan. 27.

To achieve the look of Wells, McConaughey told Australian publication the Age that he ate “two to three burgers” and drank several pints of beer per day. The typically chiseled sex symbol said he just wanted “salt, meat, and bread” and didn’t eat much in the way of sweets.

While McConaughey has been generally accepted for his weight swings, actresses have been treated a little less gently. Renée Zellweger, Anne Hathaway, Charlize Theron, and Mila Kunis have also gained or lost weight for roles. While male actors are typically applauded for their transformations, actresses, who already endure rampant sexism in Hollywood, are often dissected to bits for doing the same as the male counterparts.

It isn’t the first time McConaughey’s body has gone through an extreme transformation. For 2013’s Dallas Buyers Club, he dropped a whopping 50 pounds for his role as Ron Woodroof, the creator of the real-life club the film was based on.

Gold is now showing in theaters nationwide.