Dakota Johnson to Lady Gaga: Celebrities left scarred by intense roles

In Hollywood, acting may seem glamorous, but some roles leave scars long after the cameras stop rolling. 

Many celebrities have opened up about how losing themselves in dark or demanding characters took a toll on their mental and emotional health.

Here are some of the iconic stars who admitted that their performances left them shaken:

Dakota Johnson in 'Suspiria'

Dakota Johnson revealed that making the horror film Suspiria left her mentally scarred.

“It f***** me up so much that I had to go to therapy,” she said, describing the eerie filming conditions in a mountaintop abandoned hotel.

Johnson explained why the role stayed with her, “I’m a very porous person and I absorb a lot of people’s feelings. When you’re working sometimes with dark subject matter, it can stay with you. Talking to somebody really nice about it afterwards is a really nice way to move on.”

Leonardo DiCaprio in 'Shutter Island'

Leonardo DiCaprio has described filming Shutter Island as one of the hardest experiences of his career. 

The actor shared that playing a U.S. Marshal descending into madness forced him into unsettling psychological spaces.

“It was one of the most intense, hardcore filming experiences I’ve ever had as we explored what the mentally ill had to face in the days when mental hospitals were called insane asylums,” DiCaprio said. “I went to places and unearthed some things that I didn’t think I was capable of.”

The experience even resurfaced in his personal life. He recalled, “When I used a nicotine patch…I did have bloodcurdling nightmares of mass murders. I guess I had moments like that in the film.”

Natalie Portman in 'Black Swan'

Natalie Portman gave everything to her role as a ballerina spiralling into obsession in Black Swan, so much so that it nearly broke her.

“It was the first time I understood how you could get so wrapped up in a role that it could sort of take you down,” she explained.

Her physical transformation also pushed her to the brink. “There were some nights that I thought I literally was going to die,” she recalled of her drastic weight loss. 

Looking back, Portman admitted she “probably should have gone into rehab” afterward.

Lady Gaga in 'House of Gucci'

Lady Gaga stayed in character as Patrizia Reggiani for nine months, channelling both her craft and her own trauma into the role. 

However, the intensity nearly consumed her.

“I was falling apart as [Patrizia] fell apart. When I say that I didn’t break character, some of it was not by choice,” she admitted.

Furthermore, director Ridley Scott worried she was “traumatizing herself,” but Gaga replied, “I already have. I’ve already been through this anyway. I might as well give it to you.”

By the end, Gaga needed a psychiatric nurse on set. “I don’t think that any actor should push themselves to that limit,” she reflected. “Sometimes it goes too far, and it can be hard to reel it in on your own.”

Kate Winslet in 'The Reader'

Kate Winslet’s Oscar-winning performance as a former Nazi camp worker in The Reader left her shaken long after filming wrapped.

“I sort of walked away like some car crash victim who somehow hadn’t been hurt on the outside, but I felt like I couldn’t speak about it,” Winslet shared. “It was truly overwhelming. I really went somewhere…I was in some kind of a trance.”

Even years later, she admitted she was “still coming to terms with the whole experience.”

Sophie Turner in 'Game of Thrones'

Sophie Turner was only 15 when she was cast as Sansa Stark, a character who suffers some of the most harrowing storylines in Game of Thrones. 

To protect herself, she developed coping habits like having fun between scenes, but she later admitted that the long-term effects might still linger.

“I’m sure I’ll exhibit some symptoms of trauma down the road,” Turner confessed. “At that age, I don’t think I could comprehend a lot of the scene matter.”