"Thor" hunk Chris Hemsworth might play a bro in "Rush," Ron Howard's excellent new and mostly true movie about the 1976 Formula 1 season, but that doesn't mean he didn't have to shed some pounds before jumping in a race car.


Hemsworth plays James Hunt, a British F1 driver whose rivalry with Austrian Niki Lauda (played by Daniel Bruhl) made for one of sports' most epic -- and dangerous -- tête-à-têtes. In a Thursday appearance on "Today," Hemsworth told Savannah Guthrie he lost 30 pounds for the role.


Apparently fitting into an F1 car is quite difficult for someone with superhero physique. "The first thing Ron said to me was, 'I don't know if Thor's going to fit into a race car," Hemsworth said. "I went from 215 pounds from a Thor weight down to about 195 to be able to fit in. But the character that I played is about the same height and physique and also had a hard time getting in."


The hard work has been paying off, with "Rush" sitting at a 90 percent fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes a week ahead of its Sept. 27 release.


For more, head over to Today. A gallery of other stars who slimmed down for roles is available below.




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  • Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson


    <strong>Movie:</strong> "All Things Fall Apart" (2011) <strong>Role:</strong> Deon, a celebrated football player battling cancer <strong>Weight loss:</strong> <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/05/28/50-cents-weight-loss-deta_n_593953.html" target="_blank">More than 50 pounds</a>




  • Christian Bale


    <strong>Movie:</strong> "The Fighter" (2011) <strong>Role:</strong> Professional boxer Dicky Eklund, who suffered from a crack addiction <strong>Weight loss:</strong> "I never got on a scale. I didn't want it to be about the numbers; I wanted it to be about the look," Bale <a href="http://watch.accesshollywood.com/video/christian-bale-exposes-dramatic-weight-loss-details-for-the-fighter/1314801535001?utm_source=accesshollywood.com&utm_medium=referral" target="_blank">told "Access Hollywood."</a>




  • Christian Bale


    <strong>Movie:</strong> "The Machinist" (2004) <strong>Role:</strong> A machinist with intense insomnia <strong>Weight loss:</strong> 63 pounds. "I had what could be called a kind of stupid feeling of invincibility, like, 'Oh I can do it. I can manage it,'" <a href="http://voices.yahoo.com/christian-bales-weight-loss-machinist-this-66659.html" target="_blank">Bale said</a>.




  • Collin Farrell


    <strong>Movie:</strong> "Triage" (2011) <strong>Role:</strong> A photojournalist with PTSD <strong>Weight loss:</strong> 44 pounds, thanks to a diet of only tuna, coffee and diet soda




  • Matt Damon


    <strong>Movie:</strong> "Courage Under Fire" (1996) <strong>Role:</strong> An Army medic who goes AWOL <strong>Weight loss:</strong> 40 pounds, which was reportedly shed via daily running and a diet of chicken breast, egg whites and one plain baked potato per day along with large amounts of coffee and cigarettes




  • Matthew Fox


    <strong>Movie:</strong> "Alex Cross" (2012) <strong>Role:</strong> Picasso, a professional assassin who participates in an underground ultimate-fighting ring <strong>Weight loss:</strong> "It was circuit training until I wanted to puke," <a href="http://www.mensfitness.com/leisure/entertainment/matthew-fox-uncensored-the-alex-cross-star-talks-about-career-and-controversy" target="_blank">Fox said</a> of the 40 pounds he shed to play the chronically fit serial killer.




  • Matthew McConaughey


    <strong>Movie:</strong> "Dallas Buyers Club" (2013) <strong>Role:</strong> Ron Woodruff, a Texas rodeo cowboy who is diagnosed with HIV and given 30 days to live <strong>Weight loss:</strong> Nearly 40 pounds, eliminated by <a href="http://www.eonline.com/news/365424/skinny-matthew-mcconaughey-dishes-on-his-shocking-weight-loss" target="_blank">cardio and diet</a>




  • Michael Fassbender


    <strong>Movie:</strong> "Hunger" (2008) <strong>Role:</strong> Bobby Sands, who led a Provisional Irish Republican Army hunger strike in 1981 <strong>Weight loss:</strong> 42 pounds after adopting <a href="http://www.contactmusic.com/news/michael-fassbender-recalls-weight-loss-horror_1223716" target="_blank">a diet of 600 calories a day</a>, heavy on nuts and berries




  • Seth Rogen


    <strong>Movie:</strong> "The Green Hornet" (2011) <strong>Role:</strong> Britt Reid/The Green Hornet <strong>Weight loss:</strong> 40 pounds with the help of a personal trainer




  • Tom Hanks


    <strong>Movie:</strong> "Philadelphia" (1993) <strong>Role:</strong> Andrew Beckett, a lawyer dying of AIDS <strong>Weight loss:</strong> Nearly 30 pounds




  • Tom Hanks


    <strong>Movie:</strong> "Cast Away" (2000) <strong>Role:</strong> Chuck Noland, a systems analyst whose airplane crashes and strands him alone in the Pacific Ocean <strong>Weight loss:</strong> Hanks gained 50 pounds to portray the pudgy Chuck and then <a href="http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20272551,00.html" target="_blank">had to shed the weight</a> to depict his growing state of emaciation while stranded.