Matthew McConaughey lost nearly 50 pounds to portray a man with AIDS in the December release "Dallas Buyers Club." 
Jared Leto said he shed nearly 40 pounds to play a transsexual woman living with AIDS in the 1980s for "Dallas Buyers Club." 
Charlize Theron gained about 30 pounds and wore crooked prosthetic teeth for her transformation into serial killer Aileen Wuornos in 2003's "Monster" -- and won a best actress Oscar. 
Meryl Streep won a best actress Oscar for her portrayal of British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in 2011's "The Iron Lady," and so did members of her makeup team. They told Entertainment Weekly they pulled it off by working around Streep's natural facial elements. 
Jake Gyllenhaal lost roughly 20 pounds for his role in the crime drama "Nightcrawler." 
Jason Segel has been working hard to shed weight for his role in the upcoming comedy "Sex Tape," which also stars Cameron Diaz. The 33-year-old actor said that adopting a healthier lifestyle was key. 
Ashton Kutcher had the good fortune of looking like Steve Jobs' long-lost cousin, so transforming himself into the icon of innovation didn't take much. But it's amazing what the haircut, glasses and beard can do. 
For 2014's "Guardians of the Galaxy," Chris Pratt gave up beer for six months ... and wound up looking like this. 
David O. Russell's December release "American Hustle" is set in the '70s, and part of the fun of the film is seeing Bradley Cooper's impressive perm. 
Elizabeth Banks' comedic timing is as sharp as ever in "The Hunger Games," but her makeup job is a far cry from how we're used to seeing her. 
Daniel Day-Lewis looked presidential enough to appear on currency in 2012's "Lincoln." The actor portrayed the 16th president so well he won an Oscar. 
In "Looper," Joseph Gordon-Levitt was made up to look more like his co-star, Bruce Willis. 
50 Cent had fans worried that he was truly ill when images surfaced of his role as a man suffering from cancer in "All Things Fall Apart." 
While we've seen him become extremely thin to play a character, Leto has also gone in the other direction. For "Chapter 27," he packed on 60 pounds to portray Mark David Chapman. 
Even if you don't remember 2008's "Tropic Thunder," you likely recall that Robert Downey Jr. was in blackface for his role. The controversial makeup choice was reflective of the lengths that Downey's method actor character, Kirk Lazarus, would go to portray a Vietnam War sergeant who was initially written as African-American. 
Nicole Kidman nabbed a best actress Oscar for her portrayal of Virginia Woolf in 2002's "The Hours." But the makeup job that changed her appearance -- aided greatly by a prosthetic nose that stirred debate -- didn't receive a nod. 
For his role as a man who aged in reverse in "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button," Brad Pitt "had to endure the most complicated and time-consuming makeup effects," sometimes spending five hours at a time in the makeup chair, producer Frank Marshall told Variety in 2008. 
Christian Bale's disturbingly gaunt frame in "The Machinist" is a legendary tale of going all out for a character. The actor famously dropped 63 pounds for the part by sticking to a diet of coffee, cigarettes and an apple a day. 
Heath Ledger's Joker was thrillingly unhinged in 2008's "The Dark Knight," and the makeup job was part of the package. Both the actor and the makeup team were nominated for Oscars, but it was Ledger who was honored posthumously with the award. 
When she landed the part of Lisbeth Salander in 2011's "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo," fresh-faced Rooney Mara got a severe haircut in an inky hue, bleached her brows and pierced her nose, lip, eyebrow and nipple. 
Critics heaped praise on Marion Cotillard's award-winning portrayal of French icon Edith Piaf in 2007's "La Vie en Rose." The physical part of her transformation into Piaf took patience, with Cotillard's role demanding five hours in a makeup chair. 
Eddie Murphy has a knack for portraying multiple characters in the same film, and in 1988's "Coming to America," he played Prince Akeem and comedic barbershop gentleman Saul (pictured, right) among others. Makeup artist Rick Baker earned an Oscar nod for his work. 
Julianne Moore was tasked with convincingly portraying Sarah Palin in HBO's 2012 movie "Game Change" and implicit in doing so was looking the part. Moore pulled it off, picking up an Emmy in the process. Among those she thanked? Her hair and makeup team, of course. 
The makeover for Eric Stoltz in 1985's "Mask" was astounding as Stoltz portrayed "Rocky" Dennis, a boy trying to live a normal life with the disorder lionitis. The transformation picked up an Oscar for best makeup. 
- Best Actor fave Matthew McConaughey lost 50 pounds for "Dallas Buyers Club"
- Charlize Theron became fat and unrecognizable for "Monster" and won the Oscar
- Robert De Niro played boxer thin and really fat; George Clooney put on weight for "Syriana"
- Gene Seymour: Hollywood loves actors who change appearance or persona drastically
Editor's note: Gene Seymour is a film critic who has written about music, movies and culture for The New York Times, Newsday, Entertainment Weekly and The Washington Post.
(CNN) -- This year's race for best actor at the Academy Awards was supposed to have been the most wide open in decades, with candidates ranging from two-time winner Tom Hanks for "Captain Phillips" to newcomer Oscar Isaac for "Inside Llewyn Davis."
The 77-year-old veteran Bruce Dern gave a signature performance as an addled senior citizen in "Nebraska," while Leonardo DiCaprio delivered a flamboyant tour de force in "The Wolf of Wall Street." And it was a banner year for black actors, with the Oscar-worthy performances of Forest Whitaker in "Lee Daniels' The Butler," Michael B. Jordan in "Fruitvale Station" and Chiwetel Ejiofor in "12 Years a Slave."
Now, with voting completed and less than a couple days away from Oscar night, the pundits, prognosticators and tea-leaf readers agree that the winner will be ... none of the above. Hanks, Isaac, Whitaker and Jordan weren't even nominated.
But Matthew McConaughey was. And as the AIDS patient who smuggles unapproved but effective medication to help others with the disease in "Dallas Buyers Club," McConaughey raised his ever-expanding professional profile as a versatile leading man while showing he could physically commit to his work. He shed almost 50 pounds and, going further, secluded himself from social interaction to achieve the gaunt pallor of a dying man.
That level of investment, combined with an intense performance, combined to make McConaughey such a prohibitive favorite for the best actor prize that, even with such sterling competition as Dern, DiCaprio, Ejiofor and Christian Bale, who gained weight and wore a comb-over wig as a con artist in "American Hustle," it would be a stunner if he loses.
If ... OK, fine, when McConaughey steps to the winner's circle Sunday night after his name is announced, it will represent the latest manifestation of the Motion Picture Academy of Arts and Sciences' historic tendency to honor actors who make heads swivel by changing their image, professional or physical; the more dramatic and conspicuous the transformation, the better the chances that actor, or actress, will be rewarded.
For instance, 10 years ago, onetime model Charlize Theron, who at the time had gained traction in her bid for serious consideration as an actress, made herself the all-but-inevitable best actress Oscar winner in "Monster" by becoming unrecognizably fat and grotesque as serial killer Aileen Wuornos.
CNN Films' "And the Oscar Goes To ..." airs Thursday, February 27 at 9 p.m. ET The first Academy Awards ceremony was held in Los Angeles in May 1929, honoring films and performances from 1927 and 1928. Here is a look back at all of the best actress winners, listed by the year in which they received their Oscar. 
Douglas Fairbanks Sr. hands Janet Gaynor her best actress Oscar in 1929 for Gaynor's performance in the 1927 film ''Sunrise." It was the first best actress Oscar ever awarded. 
In 1930, there were actually two Oscar ceremonies. Actress Mary Pickford, seen here, receives her best actress Oscar in April 1930 for her performance in the 1929 film "Coquette." 
Norma Shearer receives a best actress Oscar in October 1930 for her role in "The Divorcee." Giving her the award is Conrad Nagel, who starred with her in the film released earlier that year. 
Marie Dressler and Lionel Barrymore collect their best actress and best actor Oscars in 1931. Dressler won for "Min and Bill" and Barrymore won for "A Free Soul." 
Film producer Louis B. Mayer presents the best actress Oscar to Helen Hayes for her role in "The Sin of Madelon Claudet." 
Douglas Fairbanks Jr. and Katharine Hepburn appear in the 1933 film "Morning Glory." Hepburn's performance earned her the best actress Oscar in 1934. There was no Academy Awards ceremony in 1933; films from that year and the last half of 1932 were eligible to win at the 1934 ceremony. 
Claudette Colbert won the best actress Oscar in 1935 for "It Happened One Night," a film that was the first to win all five of the major Academy Award categories -- best picture, best director, best actor, best actress and best screenplay. 
Bette Davis and film producer Jack L. Warner hold Davis' best actress Oscar at the ceremony held in 1936. Davis won her first Oscar for her role in the film "Dangerous." 
Luise Rainer, second from left, is seen at the 1937 ceremony with, from left, Louis B. Mayer, Louise Tracy and Frank Capra. Rainer won for "The Great Ziegfeld." 
For her performance in "The Good Earth," Luise Rainer won the best actress Oscar for the second consecutive year. 
Bette Davis won her second Oscar in 1939, this time for "Jezebel." 
Vivien Leigh accepts her Oscar in 1940 for her performance in "Gone With the Wind." 
Actors James Stewart and Ginger Rogers smile after winning Oscars in 1941. Stewart won best actor for his performance in "The Philadelphia Story," while Rogers won best actress for her performance in "Kitty Foyle: The Natural History of a Woman." 
Joan Fontaine looks at the best actress Oscar she won for her role in the film "Suspicion." 
After winning the best actress Oscar in 1943, Greer Garson gets a congratulatory kiss from her "Mrs. Miniver" co-star Walter Pidgeon. 
Jennifer Jones holds the best actress Oscar she won in 1944 for her performance in "Song of Bernadette." To her right is actress Ingrid Bergman. 
Ingrid Bergman didn't have to wait long to hold her own best actress award. Here, she poses with the Oscar she earned for her role in the film "Gaslight." 
Joan Crawford receives her Academy Award in bed because of an illness. She was recognized for her performance in the 1945 film "Mildred Pierce." 
Olivia de Havilland receives her best actress Oscar from actor Ray Milland for her performance in "To Each His Own." 
Loretta Young, second from left, won the best actress Oscar in 1948 for her role in "Farmer's Daughter." 
Jane Wyman stands by a doorway backstage at the Academy Awards. She won her best actress Oscar for the film "Johnny Belinda." 
Olivia de Havilland looks at her two best actress Oscars. She won her second in 1950 for her role in "The Heiress." 
Judy Holliday bursts into tears in 1951 after winning the best actress Oscar for her performance in "Born Yesterday." 
Vivien Leigh appears with Karl Malden in "A Streetcar Named Desire." Her performance in the film earned her a second Oscar. 
Shirley Booth wins the best actress Oscar for "Come Back, Little Sheba" in 1953. 
Audrey Hepburn is surrounded by reporters as she holds her best actress Oscar for "Roman Holiday." 
Grace Kelly poses with her Oscar after the Academy Awards ceremony in 1955. She won the statuette for her role in "The Country Girl." 
Anna Magnani enthusiastically holds the Oscar she won for "Rose Tattoo." The award was presented to her by U.S. Ambassador Clare Luce at the Villa Taverna in Rome. 
Ingrid Bergman, right, appears with Helen Hayes in a scene from the movie "Anastasia." Her performance earned her a second Oscar for best actress. 
Joanne Woodward smiles while holding her best actress Oscar (and a cigarette). She received the award for her role in the film "Three Faces of Eve." 
From left, actor Burl Ives, actress Susan Hayward and actor David Niven pose with their Oscars in 1959. Hayward won for her role in "I Want to Live!" 
Actress Simone Signoret, seen here next to actor Rock Hudson at the Academy Awards ceremony in 1960, won the best actress Oscar for her role in "Room at the Top." 
Elizabeth Taylor is seen with her Oscar after being named best actress for her part in "Butterfield 8." 
Sophia Loren reacts after winning best actress for the film "La Ciociara." 
Anne Bancroft cries in her New York apartment as she accepts a congratulatory phone call following her win for "The Miracle Worker." 
Patricia Neal and her three children look at her Oscar statuette, which she won in 1964 for her role in "Hud." 
Julie Andrews looks at the Academy Award she won for "Mary Poppins'" in 1965. The role was her film debut. 
Julie Christie is seen with her Academy Award, which she won for her role in "Darling." 
Elizabeth Taylor holds up her second Oscar, this one for the film "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf." 
Katharine Hepburn and Cecil Kellaway appear in a scene from "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner." Hepburn won her second Oscar more than 30 years after her first. 
Barbra Streisand gazes at the best actress statuette she won for "Funny Girl." There was a tie for the award in 1969, with the other winner being Katharine Hepburn. 
Katharine Hepburn and Peter O'Toole appear in "The Lion in Winter." The film earned Hepburn her third Oscar for best actress. 
Maggie Smith, who won for "The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie," celebrates with her husband at the time, Robert Stephens. 
Glenda Jackson won the best actress Oscar for her part in "Women In Love." 
Jane Fonda cradles the best actress Oscar she received for "Klute." 
Liza Minnelli holds the Oscar she won for "Cabaret." 
George Segal and Glenda Jackson appear in a scene from "A Touch of Class," which snagged Jackson the best actress Oscar in 1974. 
Ellen Burstyn, left, appears in "Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore," which won her the best actress Oscar in 1975. 
From left, producer Saul Zaentz, actor Jack Nicholson, actress Louise Fletcher and producer Michael Douglas pose with their Oscars at the 1976 Academy Awards ceremony. They all won for the film "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest," which swept the major categories that year. 
Faye Dunaway rests by the Beverly Hills Hotel swimming pool the morning after she received the best actress Oscar for "Network." 
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