'Grey's Anatomy' Star Jeffrey Dean Morgan Loses 40 Pounds for History Channel's 'Texas Rising'

• comments
• 
• 

Jeffrey Dean Morgan lost 40 pounds in a very unhealthy way by subsisting on one can of tuna a day.

Standing at 6 foot and 2 inches, the former "Grey's Anatomy" star dropped from 170 pounds to 130 pounds by following his tuna fish diet.

"I ate a can of tuna fish a day. I did it in the most unhealthy way possible...I didn't consult with a doctor or anything. We had said maybe we should lose, like, 10 pounds, and I just kept going and going, and by the end of the movie, I was just [moving] like a snail!," Morgan told Perez Hilton.

Morgan shed off weight to prepare for his new role in the miniseries, "Texas Rising." He was asked by the show producers to lose 10 pounds so he could play the role of a tuberculosis-stricken character, Erastus "Deaf" Smith.

"He had a consumption of tuberculosis," Morgan told Today.com last week. "And so I got there and I was probably about 175. I left and I was about 130."

According to E! Online, "Texas Rising" is a new historical drama about the Texas revolution against Mexico and how the Texas Ranger Division came to be. Stars of the show include: Bill Paxton, Trevor Donovan and Stephen Monroe Taylor, among others.

In Hollywood, losing weight for a role is not uncommon among celebs. Actor Matthew MacConaughey lost 50 pounds for his role as a man with HIV in the movie, "Dallas Buyers Club."

The Examiner reports that McConaughey went from 185 pounds to 135 pounds through intense cardio workouts and by following a strict low-calorie regimen. For his dedication in playing the role, he won an Academy Award for Best Actor.

Another star who is no stranger to drastic weight loss or gain is McConaughey's "Dallas Buyers Club" co-star, Jared Leto.

Leto lost 30 pounds for his role as a transsexual woman with AIDS by fasting for four weeks. He also won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.

Leto also had to gain 67 pounds when he played Mark David Chapman, John Lennon's assassin, in the drama "Chapter 27." He gained weight by bingeing on tubs of ice cream drizzled with olive oil and soy sauce. The actor vowed never to gain weight so unhealthily for a movie role because it affected his health.

Interestingly, for his new role as the Joker in the upcoming film, "Suicide Squad," Leto gained weight by buffing up and gaining muscles, according to Celebrity Health Fitness.