“You Won’t Believe How This Actor Scared Women Off-Screen!

Vincent D’Onofrio is best known for his memorable role as the clumsy Marine recruit in Stanley Kubrick’s movie Full Metal Jacket. However, his popularity decreased after that.

The ruggedly handsome actor, who turned 64 on June 30, 2023, had to change his appearance drastically for the role. This change made women, who once loved his curly dark hair and athletic build, less interested in him.

D’Onofrio has a long and varied career. He always gives his best to every role, transforming completely into his characters, making people forget who he really is.

Born in Brooklyn, D’Onofrio started in stage productions, both off-Broadway and on. He had many side jobs to support his acting dreams, including working as a bodyguard for Yul Brynner and Robert Plant.

In his early days, he worked as a nightclub bouncer, delivered flowers, hung drapes, and drove a cab to make ends meet.

After acting in a few low-budget films, his friend Matthew Modine suggested he send an audition tape to Stanley Kubrick, who was casting for his next big movie.

The 6-foot-3 D’Onofrio, who was very fit at the time, won the role of Leonard, a fat, dim-witted character, but had to meet some tough conditions.

Working with Kubrick was a life-changing experience for D’Onofrio, allowing him to fully dive into his character and push his acting limits in a challenging environment.

At 24, D’Onofrio had to shave his head and gain 70 to 80 pounds for the role, the most weight any actor has gained for a role.

Kubrick initially asked if he was okay with gaining weight, and after D’Onofrio gained 30 pounds, Kubrick felt he still looked too strong. So, D’Onofrio ended up gaining about 80 pounds, going from 200 to 280 pounds.

Gaining weight for the role was tough for D’Onofrio, especially when he had to perform the intense boot-camp scenes in the movie. Normally, obstacle courses would have been easy for him with his athletic build, but they were very challenging at 280 pounds.

D’Onofrio’s incredible performance as the chubby, dim-witted, and mentally disturbed Leonard earned him a lot of praise from critics. However, some fans started confusing him with his character.

“People treat you differently when you’re that size,” D’Onofrio said. “My head was shaved, so I looked completely different from my usual long, lanky self. I turned into this big, burly guy with a bald head. It was a very strange life change.”

He added, “It changed my life. Women didn’t look at me anymore; I mostly saw their backs as they ran away. People even talked to me slowly, thinking I was stupid.”

A year after filming Full Metal Jacket, Vincent D’Onofrio had a full head of hair again and his body returned to its original size.

Today, the New York-born director, producer, screenwriter, and actor, who wrote the 2023 book “Pigs Can’t Look Up,” credits his long career to Stanley Kubrick.

“Stanley made my career, there’s no question about that. I’ve done over 50 films because of him and that part,” D’Onofrio said. He has had many roles in both film and TV, including Law & Order: Criminal Intent (2001-2011) and Marvel’s Daredevil (2015-2018). His movies include Dying Young, The Break-Up, and Jurassic World.

D’Onofrio’s life was greatly impacted by his parents’ divorce when he was a child. His mother remarried George Meyer, a well-known American producer and writer, and the family moved to Hialeah, Florida. As a child, D’Onofrio was quiet and often spent time alone in his room, deep in thought.

While living in Florida, he became interested in magic and learned sleight of hand from Cuban performers who ran a small magic store.

In the early 1990s, Vincent D’Onofrio was romantically involved with actress Greta Scacchi. They appeared together in several films, including The Player and Fires Within. They have a daughter named Leila George, born around 1991 or 1992, who has also become an actress.

Wikipedia Commons / David Shankbone

In 1997, Vincent D’Onofrio married Carin van der Donk, a Dutch model. They had their first son in 1999. However, their relationship had problems in the early 2000s, leading to a separation. They later got back together and had a second son in 2008.

In June 2023, D’Onofrio filed for divorce in Manhattan Supreme Court, ending his 26-year marriage with Carin van der Donk.

D’Onofrio appeared with Sandra Bullock in the 2021 film The Unforgivable and will be in the upcoming comedy Dumb Money.

Vincent D’Onofrio was fantastic in Full Metal Jacket and his mental decline as Leonard is incredibly believable!

He looks totally different now, as to be expected many decades later, but we still enjoy his performances!

What do you think about his portrayal of the dumb, fat Leonard?

Millionaire Finds Out His Daughter and Four Grandchildren Have Been Living in a Car for Years

A woman who was kicked out by her rich father at sixteen for taking up with a poor man ends up living on the streets with her four children after her husband died.

Steve Walton was far from thrilled when his butler told him that Pastor Morris was waiting to see him. He was tired after a long flight from Singapore and in no mood for the man’s lectures or pleas for support for the community.

He had the pastor shown in and waved an impatient hand at his greeting. “Get on with it, man!” he snapped. “What is it that you want this time?”

“Mr. Walton, I saw Susan,” the pastor said quietly, and Steve’s heart nearly stopped. His only daughter had left his house nearly fifteen years before, never to be seen again…

“Susan?” Steve cried anxiously. “Where? When? How is she?”

“I was in Los Angeles, helping out a friend who has a mission among the homeless and that’s where I saw her,” the pastor said.

“She was a volunteer? Did you tell her I’ve been looking for her?” asked Steve.

“No,” Pastor Morris said gently. “She wasn’t a volunteer, Mr. Walton. She’s homeless. She and her children are living in a car.”

Steve found himself so dizzy he had to sit down. “Homeless? My Susan? Children?” he gasped.

“I’m afraid so,” the pastor said. “And she wouldn’t even listen to me when I told her to come home.”

“But why?” asked Steve angrily. “She’s not with that loser anymore, is she?”

“Her husband passed away three years ago, Mr. Walton,” the pastor explained. “And she told me she wouldn’t bring her children into a house where their father is despised.”

Steve Walton felt that old familiar wave of rage sweep through him. Fifteen years later, Susan was still defying him! He remembered the scene in his study, and Susan’s steady eyes looking into his as he ranted.

“Pregnant at sixteen, and by the GARDNER!” he’d screamed. “Well, we are going to have THAT taken care of, and HE’S fired! You will never see that man again!”

“THAT is my baby, daddy,” Susan had said in a tremulous voice. “And HE is the man I love. I’m going to marry him.”

“You marry that man and you’re on your own, Susan, do you hear?” Steve shouted furiously. “No more money, nothing! You marry him and you get out of my house!”

Susan had looked at him with tears in her eyes. “I love you, daddy,” she’d said. Then she turned around and walked away. Even though Steve had set detectives to find her, no one had been able to trace her.

“How many children?” he asked Pastor Morris.

“Four,” the pastor said. “Three girls and a boy. Beautiful children.”

Steve picked up his phone and spat out orders for his plane to be readied. “Pastor, would you come with me to Los Angeles, take me to my little girl?” he asked quietly.

The pastor nodded, and within two hours, the two men were on board Steve’s private jet winging their way south. There was a limo waiting for them, and the pastor directed them to a parking lot outside a large mall.

At the furthest end of the lot, a pickup truck was parked, with a tent set up at the back. Pastor Morris had told Steve that when Susan’s husband died in a work accident, the insurance company had refused to pay out and the bank foreclosed on the mortgage.

Susan had piled the children and their few belongings into the old pickup. She worked at the mall as a cleaner. She and the children used the mall’s facilities and bought whatever was leftover at the restaurants at the end of the night.

Still, she had managed to keep the four children fed, clean, and in school. As the two men approached the truck, they heard cheerful voices and laughter. Then two children tumbled out of the back.

The biggest girl, about fourteen, was laughing as she tickled a boy of about seven. The children stopped and gaped at Steve and Pastor Morris. “Mom!” the girl yelled. “That old preacher friend of yours is here!”

A well-remembered voice asked from inside the tent, “Preacher Morris?” Then Susan climbed out and Steve could see the shock in her face when she saw him standing next to the pastor.

“Daddy?” she asked, and her eyes filled with tears.

Steve was shocked. His daughter was barely thirty-one, but she looked much older. Her face was worn and lined with worry and suffering, her hands coarsened by hard work.

“Susan,” Steve cried. “Look at you! Look at what HE did to my princess! I wanted so much for you! And you married that loser! What could he give you? Poverty?”

Susan shook her head and said, “He loved me, daddy, and he gave me 4 beautiful children. He died, and I had nowhere to go, but I’ve done what I can for my children. I will always love the father of my children, daddy, just like I’ve always loved you.”

Steve found that he had tears running down his face. “Forgive me, Susan,” he sobbed. “Please forgive me. Come home, I want you all to come home with me. Let me help you take care of the children!”

Steve found himself holding his weeping daughter and knew that everything was going to be alright. Susan introduced him to his three granddaughters, then she placed her hand on the boy’s shoulder. “And this,” she smiled, “is little Stevie!”

“You named him after me?” Steve asked, astounded. “After what I did?”

“I love you, daddy,” she said softly. “Don’t you know that?”

That afternoon, they all flew home to Texas. It was the beginning of a better life for all of them.

What can we learn from this story?

Love and accept your children unconditionally. Steve was furious with Susan for loving a poor man and made the biggest mistake of his life by losing his daughter.
Don’t judge people for their wealth or influence. Steve hated his son-in-law because he was poor, but he was a loving husband to Susan and a dedicated dad.

Share this story with your friends. It might brighten their day and inspire them.

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