Hanks Underwent a Drastic Transformation
From beginning to end, Hanks looks like an entirely different person. Zemeckis actually halted filming for a year so the actor could lose 50 pounds and make himself look deteriorated in the most authentic way possible. He was 225 pounds at the start of the film and slimmed down to 170 in order to believably look like he was malnourished from living on an island.