{"id":2726,"date":"2024-07-01T22:32:20","date_gmt":"2024-07-01T22:32:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sciencesandnatures.com\/?p=2726"},"modified":"2024-07-01T22:32:21","modified_gmt":"2024-07-01T22:32:21","slug":"he-played-his-break-through-role-so-convincingly-that-women-ran-from-him-believed-he-was-dumb","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sciencesandnatures.com\/he-played-his-break-through-role-so-convincingly-that-women-ran-from-him-believed-he-was-dumb\/","title":{"rendered":"He played his break-through role so convincingly that women ran from him, believed he was dumb"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Vincent D\u2019Onofrio\u2019s is probably best remembered for his iconic role as the chubby, inept Marine recruit in Stanley Kubrick\u2019s Full Metal Jacket.\n\n\n\n

But after that, his popularity took a dive.\n\n\n\n

The ruggedly handsome actor, who turned 64 on June 30, 2023, said the role required a dramatic physical transformation, which resulted in him repelling the women who once swooned over his curly dark hair and athletic build.\n\n\n\n

Vincent D\u2019Onofrio\u2019s r\u00e9sum\u00e9 is as lengthy as it is diverse. He always puts 200% into every part, and he is always able to become the character to the point you forget who he is.\n\n\n\n

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The Brooklyn-born actor got his start in stage productions, some off-Broadway others on, and held numerous side hustles, like being a bodyguard to Yul Brynner and Robert Plant, to support his dreams of being an actor.\n\n\n\n

In his early days, he earned himself a living as a nightclub bouncer, delivering flowers, hanging drapes and driving a cab.\n\n\n\n

\n
33 years old.
I\u2019m glad I\u2019m not that guy anymore. He was dumb.\n\n\n\n
\u2014 Vincent D\u2019Onofrio (@vincentdonofrio)\n\n\n\n\n
But after appearing in a couple of low-budget films, D\u2019Onofrio\u2019s friend, actor Matthew Modine, urged him to send an audition tape to Stanley Kubrick, who at the time was casting for his next big hit.\n\n\n\n
The 6-foot-3 D\u2019Onofrio, who was incredibly fit, won the role of the fat, dim-witted Leonard, but it came with a few conditions.\n\n\n\n
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Working with Kubrick was a transformative experience for D\u2019Onofrio, as it allowed him to immerse himself deeply in his character and explore his acting abilities in a challenging and intense environment.\n\n\n\n
The father of three, now 64, had to shave his gorgeous full head of hair, and gain 70 to 80 pounds, which to this date is the most weight gained by any actor for a role.\n\n\n\n
\u201c[Kubrick] asked me early on would I be all right with gaining this weight and I went over there and gained about 30 pounds, and I remember him seeing it and saying that I only look like I could kick everybody\u2019s a**. He thought some more weight would be needed.\u201d Speaking of the role he played when he was 24, D\u2019Onofrio continued, \u201cI think it went up to 80 pounds\u2026from 200 to 280.\u201d
\n\n\n\n
\n\n<figcaption class='\"wp-element-caption\"'>Gaining the weight was not an easy task for D\u2019Onofrio, who was then faced with the gruelling demands of the movie\u2019s boot-camp scenes. Obstacle courses would have been easy with his athletic build but it was particularly taxing for someone weighing in at 280 pounds. D\u2019Onofrio\u2019s impressive portrayal of the chubby, dumb and mentally disturbed Leonard earned him a lot of praise from critics but he also had to deal with fans who mistook the actor for the character. \u201cPeople treat you differently when you\u2019re that size you gotta remember my head was shaved so it was like a completely different persona from me being this long lanky actor to a big burly guy with a bald head\u2026it was a very strange life change.\u201d The\u00a0Broken Horses\u00a0star continued, \u201cIt changed my life. Women didn\u2019t look at me, most of the time I was looking at their backs as they were running away. People used to say things to me twice, because they thought I was stupid.\u201d One year later, the\u00a0Magnificent Seven\u00a0star had a full head of hair and his body was back to his earlier size. Today, the New York-born director, producer, screenwriter and actor, who authored the 2023 book \u201cPigs Can\u2019t Look Up,\u201d credits his lengthy career to Kubrick. \u201cStanley made my career, there\u2019s no question to that I\u2019ve done over 50 films, because of him. Because of that part.\u201d D\u2019Onofrio was referring to his numerous roles in both film and TV, most notably as a series regular on\u00a0Law & Order: Criminal Intent\u00a0(2001 to 2011) and Marvel\u2019s\u00a0Daredevil\u00a0(2015 to 2018). His films include starring roles in\u00a0Dying Young,\u00a0The Break-Up and\u00a0Jurassic World. Vincent D\u2019Onofrio wife and children D\u2019Onofrio\u2019s life was greatly affected by his parents\u2019 divorce when he was a child. His mother re-married George Meyer, a renowned American producer and writer. As a result, the family moved to the Hialeah, Florida area. During his childhood, D\u2019Onofrio was a reserved boy who often retreated to his room, lost in his thoughts. While residing in Florida, he developed an interest in magic and the art of sleight of hand, skills he acquired from Cuban performers who operated a small magic store. During the early 1990s, Vincent D\u2019Onofrio was romantically involved with actress Greta Scacchi. They appeared together in multiple films during this time, such as\u00a0The Player\u00a0and\u00a0Fires Within.\u00a0From their relationship, they have a daughter named Leila George, who was born around 1991 or 1992, and she has since pursued a career as an actress. <img decoding='\"async\"' loading='\"lazy\"' srcset='\"https:\/\/cdn-main.newsner.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2023\/09\/18092911\/prem.jpeg' https: width='\"1280\"' height='\"960\"' src="%5C%22https:%5C/%5C/cdn-main.newsner.com%5C/wp-content%5C/uploads%5C/sites%5C/11%5C/2023%5C/09%5C/18092911%5C/prem.jpeg%5C%22" alt='\"\"'> In 1997, Vincent D\u2019Onofrio tied the knot with Carin van der Donk, a Dutch model. Together, they welcomed their first son in 1999. However, their relationship faced difficulties in the early 2000s, leading to a separation. They later reconciled and had a second son in 2008. In June 2023, D\u2019Onofrio initiated divorce proceedings in Manhattan Supreme Court, marking the end of the 26-year-long marriage with Carin van der Donk. D\u2019Onofrio can be seen with Sandra Bullock in 2021 film\u00a0The Unforgivable\u00a0and the soon-to-be released comedy\u00a0Dumb Money. <img decoding='\"async\"' loading='\"lazy\"' width='\"709\"' height='\"1000\"' src="%5C%22https:%5C/%5C/cdn-main.newsner.com%5C/wp-content%5C/uploads%5C/sites%5C/11%5C/2023%5C/09%5C/18091533%5C/shutterstock_2294696585.jpg%5C%22" alt='\"\"'> Vincent D\u2019Onofrio was fantastic in Full Metal Jacket and his mental decline as Leonard is incredibly believable!\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<div class='\"mh-excerpt\"'>Vincent D\u2019Onofrio\u2019s is probably best remembered for his iconic role as the chubby, inept Marine recruit in Stanley Kubrick\u2019s Full Metal Jacket. But after that, his <a class='\"mh-excerpt-more\"' href="%5C%22https:%5C/%5C/sciencesandnatures.com%5C/he-played-his-break-through-role-so-convincingly-that-women-ran-from-him-believed-he-was-dumb%5C/%5C%22" title='\"He' played his break-through role so convincingly that women ran from him believed he was dumb>[…]\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2728,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sciencesandnatures.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2726"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sciencesandnatures.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sciencesandnatures.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sciencesandnatures.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sciencesandnatures.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2726"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/sciencesandnatures.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2726\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2729,"href":"https:\/\/sciencesandnatures.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2726\/revisions\/2729"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sciencesandnatures.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2728"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sciencesandnatures.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2726"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sciencesandnatures.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2726"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sciencesandnatures.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2726"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}</a></div></figcaption>