Andrew Garfield’s ‘starvation’ diet and weight loss needed for his character in ‘Silence’

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Andrew Garfield holds no boundaries for his craft and has willingly lost 40 lbs for the upcoming movie, 'Silence.'

Now that the production phase is completed, Garfield is ready to openly talk about the sacrifices, particularly in losing tons of weight to have a realistic portrayal of his character as a Jesuit missionary from Portugal (Father Rodrigues) who travelled to Japan to look for his missing mentor, a role played by Liam Neeson (Father Ferreira). Of course, the weight loss is just part of the life-threatening journey that he and another priest Father Garrpe (played by Adam Driver) will face in the pursuit of their mission.

In an interview with People, the 33-year old actor revealed that he did not consider his massive weight loss as a burden rather as a journey as he gets a feel of his character who went through extreme starvation and who ate less than the villagers who were used to living in meager ration. The Spiderman actor further give a glimpse about his tortuous journey to Macau saying it is 'rife with dysentery and all kinds of sickness and hardly any food.'

The weight loss is part of the execution of 'the reality of the piece' in a way that even their costumes and their physique would contribute to the 'dysentery phase' of their characters, he said as mentioned in Cinemablend.

'Silence' is an adaptation from Shusaku Endo's 1966 novel of the same title with its transformation to film made possible by Martin Scorsese and screenwriter Jay Cocks ('The Age of Innocence'). The foreboding gray skies and subdued landscapes is craftily conceptualized by Rodriego Prieto with Dante Ferreti who takes charge of the production design, Seattle Pi reported.

Aside from Garfield, Driver and Neeson, 'Silence' also includes Japanese actor Issey Ogata, who plays a pivotal role in the movie as somebody who guides the monks in their Asian journey.

'Silence' is given a rated R for having 'some disturbing content.' It is set to have its first limited release on December 23 and a wider release on January 6.