Actors Who Became Experts in Real Skills Just to Play a Character
Many actors fake it until they make it, but some go all in and learn real-world skills to bring their characters to life. Some have spent weeks or months learning things like sword fighting or tightrope walking just for a single role. Their effort shows up in performances that feel more authentic than anything a stand-in or camera trick could pull off.
Kate Winslet Set an Underwater Breath-Holding Record
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During Avatar: The Way of Water, Kate Winslet trained with freediving pros and held her breath for 7 minutes and 15 seconds. She wasn’t required to stay under that long, but she took it once she realized the chance to break Tom Cruise’s record (6 minutes, 14 seconds) was there.
Joseph Gordon-Levitt Walked a Real Tightrope
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To play Philippe Petit in The Walk, Joseph Gordon-Levitt trained with Petit himself for about eight days. By the end of the week, he could walk a tightrope on his own. He also learned some French and practiced a Parisian accent for the role.
Riz Ahmed Learned Both Drums and ASL
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Riz Ahmed had to pick up more than just a few phrases or rhythms for Sound of Metal. He worked with an ASL coach, Jeremy Lee Stone, and spent months getting used to life in the Deaf community. Drumming was a daily habit too; he practiced both skills five days a week for seven months to make the role feel real.
Angelina Jolie Took Opera Lessons for Months
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Over seven months, Jolie trained to sing opera under director Pablo Larraín’s guidance to portray opera singer Maria Callas. She began in a small room with her sons guarding the door. At the Venice Film Festival, she admitted, “My first time singing…I was shaky,” but kept going until it clicked.
Margot Robbie Put In Olympic-Level Ice Time
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Getting into Tonya Harding’s skates wasn’t easy. Margot Robbie had zero skating experience when she signed on for I, Tonya. However, after months of working five days a week with Olympic choreographer Sarah Kawahara, she could perform most of the routines herself, including a replica of Harding’s 1994 Olympic routine.
Danai Gurira Trained Like a Sword Fighter
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Michonne’s zombie-slicing skills in The Walking Dead didn’t come from CGI. Danai Gurira worked with sword trainers and built katana work into her regular workouts. It was intense and exhausting, but it also gave her the confidence to help choreograph her fight scenes.
Ryan Gosling Played All His Piano Parts
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In La La Land, the piano scenes don’t use hand doubles; Ryan Gosling did the playing himself. He learned from jazz pianist Liz Kinnon, practicing almost daily for three months. According to Kinnon, Gosling was so focused on getting it right that he rarely took a break during lessons.
Jenna Ortega Picked Up the Cello
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Jenna Ortega had about eight weeks to make cello playing look second nature before filming Wednesday. She worked on posture, hand positioning, and bow work to get the visuals right. Ortega later said she respected the instrument so much that she wanted to keep practicing after filming wrapped.
Ed Harris Became a Jackson Pollock Imitator
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In Pollock, Ed Harris studied Jackson Pollock’s style, built a home art studio, and learned to paint like the abstract expressionist by watching archived footage. The approach paid off—he earned an Oscar nomination and gained insight into Pollock’s mindset: “It was about the effort,” he told The Guardian.
Will Smith Mastered the Rubik’s Cube
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Solving a Rubik’s Cube on screen isn’t easy if you’ve never tried it before. For The Pursuit of Happyness, Will Smith spent time with Tyson Mao, who’s known for speed-solving. After several hours of practice, Smith could finish the cube himself.
Andrew Garfield Learned Piano and Voice for a Year
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Andrew Garfield had a year to become Jonathan Larson in Tick, Tick…Boom! Director Lin-Manuel Miranda needed confirmation that Garfield could sing before offering the role. A friend fibbed on Garfield’s behalf, and the actor rose to the challenge. He trained with vocal coaches and practiced piano nonstop.
Sam Reid Took on Singing, Piano, and French
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Playing Lestat in Interview with the Vampire meant Sam Reid had to sing, speak French, play piano, and command a large mastiff, all in the same episode. In one scene, he delivered a lengthy monologue while guiding the dog into a cage without breaking character.
Natalie Portman Trained Like a Real Ballerina
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Natalie Portman trained for five hours a day to play Nina in Black Swan while working on other projects. Though she had prior dance experience, she admitted she was nowhere near ready at first. Her transformation was so convincing that she won the Oscar for Best Actress.
Tom Cruise Learned to Fly a Helicopter
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For Mission: Impossible – Fallout, Tom Cruise didn’t settle for a simulator. He spent over 2,000 hours training to fly a helicopter so he could perform a dangerous chase scene himself. His team eventually let him do the full scene, which added another jaw-dropping moment to his long list of self-performed stunts.
Channing Tatum Tap Danced for Six Minutes Straight
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Channing Tatum had danced on film before, but tap was new territory. For his big number in Hail, Caesar!, he spent three months learning the routine from scratch, running through it again and again—even over the holidays—until it felt second nature. That six-minute scene was all him.