"Maguire told Access Hollywood he took on an "intense" process to drop the weight in five weeks to play a kidnapped marine solider alongside sexy actress Natalie Portman and actor Jake Gyllenhaal.
“I dropped a bunch of weight," Maguire told Access. "Through shooting and a break, I had five weeks, and I lost about 20 pounds, which is a lot of weight considering where I started out at."Of his extreme weight loss, he said, "It was very intense. I just didn’t eat a lot and worked out a ton. I got into a real focused mindset. I knew what was necessary, I knew how long it was going to take, and I just had to do it,” he said. Source: www.examiner.com
Brothers video: The cast talk to EPIX about what they would do for their family.
Brothers video: Tobey Maguire opens up to EPIX about his admiration for soldiers.
Jim Sheridan with Daniel Day-Lewis filming "The Boxer" (2002)."Jim Sheridan has directed seven actors into Oscar nominations: Samantha Morton and Djimon Hounsou for “In America”; Richard Harris for “The Field”; Emma Thompson, Pete Postlethwaite and Daniel Day-Lewis for “In the Name of the Father”; and Day-Lewis again, with Brenda Fricker, who both won Oscars for “My Left Foot.”
Portman and Gyllenhaal have a more natural chemistry than Portman and Maguire — Maguire's Sam even says at one point that Tommy and Grace look like high school kids in love.
Mourning becomes Portman, which she proved best in her short but memorable role in “Cold Mountain.” Gyllenhaal showed in “Brokeback Mountain” that he is willing to take and commit to roles with emotional risks.
But the most is asked of Maguire. He has to morph from a quiet, caring father to a short-fused post-traumatic-stress-riddled veteran who can't fit back into his former life.
Sam's gut-wrenching journey takes him to Afghanistan where he is tortured into an unspeakable act before finding his way home … to a family that had already accepted his death.
Sam is a good guy, so we watch him try to rationalize away his feelings of resentment and jealousy, before they spill over. “Do you know what I did to get back to you?” he screams at Grace. “Do you know what I DID?”
Jim Sheridan is good with kids, as he showed in the very warm and believable family of “In America.”
This time, Bailee Madison and Taylor Geare play Sam and Grace's kids, Isabelle and Maggie. They are not the token kids who say something cute and disappear. They have their own personalities and get to show them. Uncle Tommy bonds with Isabelle by recognizing her love for and envy of her more outgoing little sister.
Just like Sam loves and envies the effortless ability Tommy has to charm everyone around him". Source: www.seacoastonline.com