Surprising Facts You Didn’t Know About These Iconic ’70s Stars

To play Jake LaMotta at the end of Raging Bull, Robert De Niro deliberately gained more than sixty pounds by overeating and stopping exercise entirely. He did it without doctors, trainers, or studio oversight, treating physical transformation as a private obligation rather than a managed process.

The weight gain alarmed both the production and Martin Scorsese, but De Niro refused to compromise. His body became part of the performance, not a costume. The risk paid off artistically, but it set a dangerous precedent—proof that total immersion, even at personal cost, could be rewarded with prestige and reverence.