Jeffrey Dean Morgan lost 40 pounds ‘in the most unhealthy way possible’

Jeffrey Dean Morgan

Here’s a promotional still of Jeffrey Dean Morgan in Texas Rising. The 10-hour miniseries debuted on Monday evening on The History Channel with impressive ratings. If you haven’t seen Jeffrey in awhile (which is understandable, as he keeps a low paparazzi profile), this picture may be shocking. He plays the role of Erastus “Deaf” Smith, who suffers from tuberculosis. Jeffrey lost a lot of weight for the role. For an already svelte dude, a 40-pound drop is significant. Jeffrey visited Today and admitted he lost the weight in an extreme manner:

“He had a consumption of tuberculosis. And so I got there and I was probably about 175. I left and I was about 130. 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.”

[From Today]

One can of tuna fish per day! The mere thought makes my stomach growl. I’m always fascinated at the lengths actors will go to play a role. Someone usually wants an Oscar when they gain or lose weight for a role. This is for a television miniseries, so perhaps Jeffrey wants an Emmy. Tuna is a popular staple for actors who go on these diets. I remember reading how Michael Fassbender ate a can or two per day for Hunger, and Matthew McConaughey ate one can per day plus an apple for Dallas Buyers Club. At least Jeffrey realizes now that he lost the weight in an unhealthy way. He looks so different at 40 pounds lighter.

For comparison’s sake, here’s some pictures of Jeffrey in August 2012.

Jeffrey Dean Morgan

Jeffrey Dean Morgan

He looked pretty lightweight in February 2015 on the set of Extant.

Jeffrey Dean Morgan

Here he is at the 2014 Cannes film festival, well on his way to the 40-pound weight loss.

Jeffrey Dean Morgan

Photos courtesy of The History Channel, Pacific Coast News & WENN

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68 Responses to “Jeffrey Dean Morgan lost 40 pounds ‘in the most unhealthy way possible’”

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  1. ncboudicca says:

    We’re watching it – i really didn’t recognize him when he first came on-screen. He’s good in it and I like Brendan Fraser, too. I’m sorta hooked on the series, but wow is there some hokey overly-melodramatic dialogue in it and I think they’re trying to work in too many POV for this to be coherent.

    • Lindy79 says:

      Brendan Fraser?! Bloody hell!

      Great cast looking at it, so I think I might give this one a go.

    • Sharra55 says:

      The casting is great. The writing…well! And as a Texan who lives and drives regularly where this all takes place, the locations are BOGUS! There are no cliffs or waterfalls in Goliad or Gonzales! LOL

      But I am enjoying Texas Rising.

  2. lou says:

    Oh, wow, that really aged him. Denny!

    • kcarp says:

      Ding Ding that’s who this is. I couldn’t place him

    • Diana B says:

      Holy F! I did not recognize him until I got to that second pic. He’s like another person.

    • nic says:

      It’s weird because it both aged him and made him look hotter. Normally I don’t go for old, skinny guys but… I guess when they’re secretly young, big guys, it’s hot?

    • mayamae says:

      Lifetime is rerunning season two of Grey’s at this time. I loved Denny.

  3. keannir says:

    whoa, unrecognizable. he’s a favorite, will tune into the miniseries.

  4. GoodNamesAllTaken says:

    I’m not a doctor, but I can’t imagine that’s good for you. And frankly, I think it’s silly. They told him to lose 10 pounds. Use your acting skills to make people believe your sick. It has become some kind of status thing for actors to gain and lose huge amounts of weight for a role, and it gimmicky and unhealthy. Or am I just grumpy today?

    • Betsy says:

      I was thinking the same thing.

    • Lucy2 says:

      I agree- some minir weight loss, combined with good makeup and a change in body language could have been enough. That sounds very dangerous, what he did.

    • klein says:

      Olivier famously told Dustin Hoffman to ‘try acting’ after watching him run endlessly around the block to get into character for Marathon Man but I don’t think doing their job in the most low key way possible is what these guys are after, they all just want ATTENTION. They’re like toddlers.

      • funcakes says:

        And that’s what made Sir Larry awesome. Plus he kicked ass in the Marathon Man while Dustin Hoffman was chewing scenery with his method acting.

      • Don't kill me I'm French says:

        The same Lawrence Olivier made Marylin Monroe crying before her scenes because he thought she never was enough moving

      • Bob Loblaw says:

        I disagree, not everyone has to graduate from the Royal Academy to be a good actor. I’m not a huge fan of the Method but there are plenty of great performances out there to back it up. Olivier was an arrogant ass, who notoriously abused others, that is hardly his best self to remember.

    • sills says:

      Definitely gimmicky, definitely unhealthy. I remember one actor saying his body never really recovered from it (was it Tom Hanks in Castaway? can’t remember). I see risking serious health problems as too high a price to pay for professional glory, but many actors clearly think differently.

    • mememe says:

      Tim Hanks for Castaway, yes. He did suffer lasting effects. McConaughey hasn’t looked as healthy in the face since he dropped all that weight for a role.

      Christian Bale did the same thing for The Machinist. I think he said he had an apple, coffee, and a can of tuna a day + tons of cardiovascular exercise and no strength training. He went waaaaay beyond what he was asked to lose – he had to gain 100 lbs afterwards to play Batman. In the interviews I read, he seemed to get very obsessive about the weight loss, almost like the diet triggered an eating disorder. I remember words to the effect of “there’s something really peaceful about being so small.”

      • PunkyMomma says:

        I agree with you, especially with your observation about Matthew McConaughey – he hasn’t looked the same since DBC. Totally lost the hotness.

      • V4Real says:

        Christian Bale did it twice. He also lost a lot of weight for “The Fighter.” Though he didn’t lose as much weight as he did for “The Machinist “, he still lost a significant amount of weight and that can’t be healthy.

        Sort of off topic, I used to have the biggest crush on JDM.

      • Virgilia Coriolanus says:

        I remember he said something about how everything slowed down for him…….which sounds totally creepy. If it were me, I’d lay in bed and cry about how hungry I was.

      • mayamae says:

        Hanks lost all the weight in Philadelphia first. I remember he was still too thin in Forrest Gump.

    • Kiddo says:

      “I hate you, Drop Dead!”…says GNAT.

      • GoodNamesAllTaken says:

        That made me laugh so hard, and pretty much sums up my attitude today. Lol

    • Bridget says:

      It’s bad for your heart to lose weight that rapidly, and a starvation diet screws up your metabolism. Plus, he’s not exactly a young guy.

    • DekuScrub says:

      I never understood the unhealthy weight loss/gain in order to play a character in a film, especially when it goes through such extremes like this. Why are you deliberately fucking with your body, with long-lasting medical effects? Your acting should be more than enough to convey a character’s illness. I look at Matthew McConauhey and his Dallas Buyers Club weight loss – it still shows to this day in his face and body: he looks as if he’s constantly ill, and it’s aged him at least 10 years.

      In opera, we have to portray ill people often, and weight loss to accurately show that is NEVER required, and actively encouraged. I’ve been a French courtesan dying of tuberculosis, a poor French seamstress dying of tuberculosis, and a laudanum addicted Russian woman wasting away from her addiction and psychological pain. Still weighed the same in each role, LOL, and not one person in the audience, or one critic, thought I wasn’t authentic enough.

  5. Kiddo says:

    Off to search Google for who this guy is….

    • Aussie girl says:

      Not sure who he is either. I thought he looked like Javier Bardem before he went on his method acting tuna diet.

      • Ms. Lib says:

        Denny on early Grey’s Anatomy. He and Izzie (Katherine Heigl) had a thing. He also played Nancy Botwin’s dead husband on Weeds.

    • marie says:

      I loved him in Supernatural as the Winchesters’ badass dad. And he was so damn fine in Losers too.

      • FLORC says:

        Right!
        He’s in so much stuff! One of those actors that works steadily, but not so remembered. It was said by Gary Oldman and… John Malkovich this is prefered. If you’re not remembered as playing a specific role you’re not typecasted. Gives you a longer career.

      • Dhavynia says:

        Wasn’t he in the season finale of Shameless and should have been the character now played by Dermot Mulroney? If that was the case then what a shame because I find him hotter than DM

    • Hautie says:

      (*Who is this guy? He is the dead guy from Grey’s Anatomy. The dead guy that Katherine Heigl shagged. That was the role that got him so much attention.)

      I am recording the Texas Rising series. Since I have a low tolerance, for the over dramatic telling of Texas History. But I do enjoy pretty men.

      So when I saw those PR photo’s of Halle Berry’s “baby daddy #2” Olivier Martinez…. all decked out in his Santa Anna costume. I decided I needed to watch the series. The man looks like sex in those photo’s.

      • Kiddo says:

        I looked him up on IMDb and realized I really didn’t watch anything that he was in, or hadn’t noticed him. I never latched on to Grey’s Anatomy. For no rational reason, I have always found Ellen Pompeo annoying. Then you had your Heigl and Walsh, both of whom I’m not a fan of. That was one big show that never captured my attention, although I realize it was enormously popular.

      • Mrs. Darcy says:

        Also the dead husband in Weeds, (dead) Dad in Supernatural as mentioned, and dead husband in P.S. I Love You! He’s cornered the market on playing dead guys! I do like him though the Grey’s story was too sickly corny for me but I never liked izzy or George, that’s around when I stopped watching. Tried to pick it back up again but couldn’t get into it. I like him better with more weight on him, I wish they wouldn’t starve themselves so extremely though -even with a disclaimer it’s still a bad message to send out. And at his age not good for the metabolism or heart or anything.

      • Nagia says:

        In P.S I love you he was the very alive new sex interest.

      • Lindy79 says:

        and he was in Watchmen, or was I the only person who watched that?

        (please dont remind me of his made up role in PS I Love You)

      • PrettyBlueFox says:

        @Lindy79 I usually try to forget that I saw Watchmen, but I blame that reaction on Zack Snyder. It is the first place I recognize this actor from, though.

      • Mrs. Darcy says:

        @Nagia -omg you are right, my bad! Got him mixed up with Gerard Butler in my head (in my defense they both had dodgy Irish accents and sang the same song to her so kind of blended together in my brain!) SO they went against typecasting there – sounds like he’s sickly in this latest one though, uh oh!

  6. Lora says:

    He looks kinda hot now 🙈

  7. GlimmerBunny says:

    He’s one olf my forever crushes but he did look better with a bit more weight on him. I’ve been in love with him since I was 12 and the Grey’s storyline with Denny Duquette (IMO the show at its absolute peak). God, I still get emotional just hearing “Chasing Cars”…

  8. jwoolman says:

    Hope he gets checked regularly for mercury poisoning.

    • Tiny Martian says:

      Funny, that’s exactly what I was thinking when I read about his regular canned tuna consumption!

  9. Jayna says:

    I think he went too far. He should have skipped the last ten pounds he lost. I love him, though.

  10. Adrien says:

    Idk, I thought he looks hot?! He lost the Javier Bardem though. Also, my only concern about eating tuna daily is the possible mercury content.

  11. Fran says:

    He looks SO old 🙁 much better when he’ll get those pounds back, he’s seriously good looking!

  12. Jenna says:

    ACTUALLY… the most unhealthy way would be to start using heroin.

  13. Ms. Lib says:

    Forget the weight loss; he is probably loaded with mercury – one can of tuna a day!

  14. serena says:

    Hell no, I could never eat a can of tuna a day!!! And look at him now, suddenly losing all that weight affects your skin.. now his wrinkles came up a lot more and he seems much older than he is.

  15. lila fowler says:

    Is he still married?

  16. cakecakecake says:

    He’s kinda sexy to me!!

    in a rugged swigging whiskey kinda way or either I’m horny and need a drink.
    I like his look in the suit.

  17. kri says:

    I really like JDM. He is a quite good actor, and I get that he was going for it, but I hope he is taking care of himself now. Dropping that much weight that way..eek.

  18. Kelly says:

    He is one good looking, scruffy man. Yum.

  19. Tough Cookie says:

    I was watching Texas Rising on Monday night and didn’t recognize him!! Had to look up the cast members in Imdb to figure it out. His voice sounds different too, not as growly…if that makes any sense.

  20. LMB says:

    Forty pounds lighter and twenty years older.

  21. Madpoe says:

    Either way, I love me some Papa Winchester!

  22. Liberty says:

    PS I Love Me some Jeffrey Dean Morgan. Even if he is now substantially made of processed tuna.

  23. Green Is Good says:

    Jeffrey, Git yo skinny ass to my house! I’ll cook you some good comfort food. Biscuits and gravy with home fries .

  24. Blackbetty says:

    Why didn’t he have professionals monitoring him? Actors usually do.

  25. Casi says:

    I still would. Repeatedly and with no shame. He has popped up at the last few Suoernatural conventions and he is looking good again.

  26. KayLastima says:

    The writing for Texas Rising is embarrassing and mysoginistic. I have to say that the stars acting in this are acting to that level as well and it is painful to the point of being funny. Even JDM responds to what is being said to his character even though the other actor has his back turned to him on a horse. Come on! I view this miniseries as a sham and a waste of air time. How many times are they going to make the Alamo, Goliad, and San Jacinto about sex with Emily? They even bully JDM’s character about sex with his wife and his horse. Are you kidding me? WTH? I thought this was about the making of Texas as a republic, not shagging in Texas, or – I’ve just learned about the horrible death of many prominent people and the burning of their bodies by Santa Ana but let me tell you how horny I am right now. Such great segueways in this miniseries, let me tell you. So now my husband, who is from Texas, and I call this Pecker Rising. Did a bunch of frat boys write this? We had such high hopes for this but it is bloody awful.