Vincent D’Onofrio is probably best remembered for his iconic role as the chubby, inept Marine recruit in Stanley Kubrick’s Full Metal Jacket.

But after that, his popularity took a dive.

The ruggedly handsome actor, who turned 64 on June 30, 2023, said the role required a dramatic physical transformation, which resulted in him repelling the women who once swooned over his curly dark hair and athletic build.

Vincent D’Onofrio’s résumé is as lengthy as it is diverse. He always puts 200% into every part, and he is always able to become the character to the point you forget who he is.

The Brooklyn-born actor got his start in stage productions, some off-Broadway others on, and held numerous side hustles, like being a bodyguard to Yul Brynner and Robert Plant, to support his dreams of being an actor.

In his early days, he earned himself a living as a nightclub bouncer, delivering flowers, hanging drapes and driving a cab.

But after appearing in a couple of low-budget films, D’Onofrio’s friend, actor Matthew Modine, urged him to send an audition tape to Stanley Kubrick, who at the time was casting for his next big hit.

The 6-foot-3 D’Onofrio, who was incredibly fit, won the role of the fat, dim-witted Leonard, but it came with a few conditions.

Working with Kubrick was a transformative experience for D’Onofrio, as it allowed him to immerse himself deeply in his character and explore his acting abilities in a challenging and intense environment.

The father of three, now 64, had to shave his gorgeous full head of hair, and gain 70 to 80 pounds, which to this date is the most weight gained by any actor for a role.

33 years old.
I’m glad I’m not that guy anymore. He was dumb. pic.twitter.com/xAYMCfklJJ

— Vincent D’Onofrio (@vincentdonofrio) January 1, 2021

“[Kubrick] asked me early on would I be all right with gaining this weight and I went over there and gained about 30 pounds, and I remember him seeing it and saying that I only look like I could kick everybody’s a**. He thought some more weight would be needed.” Speaking of the role he played when he was 24, D’Onofrio continued, “I think it went up to 80 pounds…from 200 to 280.”

Gaining the weight was not an easy task for D’Onofrio, who was then faced with the gruelling demands of the movie’s boot-camp scenes.

Obstacle courses would have been easy with his athletic build but it was particularly taxing for someone weighing in at 280 pounds.

D’Onofrio’s impressive portrayal of the chubby, dumb and mentally disturbed Leonard earned him a lot of praise from critics but he also had to deal with fans who mistook the actor for the character.

“People treat you differently when you’re that size you gotta remember my head was shaved so it was like a completely different persona from me being this long lanky actor to a big burly guy with a bald head…it was a very strange life change.” The Broken Horses star continued, “It changed my life. Women didn’t look at me, most of the time I was looking at their backs as they were running away. People used to say things to me twice, because they thought I was stupid.”

One year later, the Magnificent Seven star had a full head of hair and his body was back to his earlier size.

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

“Stanley made my career, there’s no question to that I’ve done over 50 films, because of him. Because of that part.” D’Onofrio was referring to his numerous roles in both film and TV, most notably as a series regular on Law & Order: Criminal Intent (2001 to 2011) and Marvel’s Daredevil (2015 to 2018). His films include starring roles in Dying Young, The Break-Up and Jurassic World.

Vincent D’Onofrio wife and children

D’Onofrio’s life was greatly affected by his parents’ divorce when he was a child. His mother re-married George Meyer, a renowned American producer and writer.

As a result, the family moved to the Hialeah, Florida area. During his childhood, D’Onofrio was a reserved boy who often retreated to his room, lost in his thoughts.

While residing in Florida, he developed an interest in magic and the art of sleight of hand, skills he acquired from Cuban performers who operated a small magic store.

During the early 1990s, Vincent D’Onofrio was romantically involved with actress Greta Scacchi. They appeared together in multiple films during this time, such as The Player and Fires Within. From their relationship, they have a daughter named Leila George, who was born around 1991 or 1992, and she has since pursued a career as an actress.

In 1997, Vincent D’Onofrio tied the knot with Carin van der Donk, a Dutch model.

Together, they welcomed their first son in 1999. However, their relationship faced difficulties in the early 2000s, leading to a separation. They later reconciled and had a second son in 2008.

In June 2023, D’Onofrio initiated divorce proceedings in Manhattan Supreme Court, marking the end of the 26-year-long marriage with Carin van der Donk.

D’Onofrio can be seen with Sandra Bullock in 2021 film The Unforgivable and the soon-to-be released 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?

We’ve all been affected by bullying in one way or another.

We may have been victims, seen someone being bullied or even been the bully ourselves. Many children, teens and even adults are subjected to psychological and physical bullying on a daily basis that makes their lives a living hell.

Cassidy Trevan from Melbourne, Australia knew all too well what that was like.

She had been bullied for a long time. The bullying was mostly pyschological, but had also turned physical a couple of times.

She was called terrible names, attacked at school and on the internet. Even her family home was vandalized.

It got so bad that she could no longer go to school. It was just too much. Despite conversations with the bullies, things didn’t improve.

After a whole term away from school and with support, she was ready to give school another try. She started off with two days a week to get used to it.

The girls who had treated her badly apologised. They even wanted to be friends with her now. They asked if she wanted to go to a festival with them.

Of course she wanted to. She had been excluded for so long that even though the girls had been mean to her before, her need for friends outweighed that.

What Cassidy didn’t know was that the girls had a plan more outrageous than anyone could imagine.

The girls took Cassidy to a nearby house where they’d arranged for two older guys to rape her.

The girls sat outside and waited while the boys took turns raping Cassidy. She was 13 years old.

Cassidy reported the incident to the police, but unfortunately the case was dropped due to a lack of evidence. All of those involved walked free.

Cassidy’s mom, Linda, transferred her to a different school, and they even moved, but the bullies always found a way to get at her. They attacked her in shops and even called her mom and asked to talk to her.

Linda did everything she could, but she still had to watch her daughter deteriorate. Eventually, Cassidy could hardly get out of bed in the morning.

In December 2015, she took her own life.

After her suicide, Linda found a letter that Cassidy had written. A letter that everyone should read. A letter to all those who bully. A letter to everyone who has been bullied.

Here’s what she wrote:

“I was a student at (school name omitted) and I was raped by some of the students who still attend that school. I know this already probably sounds like attention-seeking but it’s honestly far from it. I have many reasons for doing this which I’ll also explain.

My aim is to warn other people (students mostly but also parents) about what happened because I’m worried if they could do it to me they could do it to other kids like me, or at least try to. You actually have the power to stop this from happening. Remember the people who did this to me were school students at (omitted), it’s hard to believe, I know. But it’s true.

I’m not doing this for revenge to those students that raped me, set up the rape, bullied me about the rape, teased me about the rape or anything like that. I’m also not doing this for attention seeking like I mentioned earlier, I want to make that clear.

I’m doing this because over 1500 students years 7-12 are currently enrolled at the school and they need to be warned. I feel because of what happened to me, and because the staff at the school did nothing to help me (which I’ll talk a bit more about later). It’s now my duty to warn you all and to make you aware of what happened. (Not just what you may have heard around school but what actually happened.)

But I’m also doing this for myself. I want to finally after 1 and ½ years be left alone. It’s surprising just how many students at (omitted) have heard stories of me and weirdly enough still get told stories of me to this day. I still continue to get students I’ve never met contacting me Facebook calling me a slut. I’ve moved schools, I’ve moved house and still I’m being contacted and bullied. I can’t stop people from spreading rumours, but at least I could try and spread what really happened seeing as it’s still being talked about anyway. But as I said this honestly is more so for students who are unaware of this and are in danger of those students.

My name is Cassidy Trevan, and I was raped.

If anyone every tries this on you trust me it’s worth fighting! Fight! If you don’t you’ll regret it for the rest of your life like I do. You can do it.

Be careful. Be warned. Be safe.”

The letter was published by Australian Channel 9.

The death of one Young person due to bullying is one death too many.

Nobody should be made to feel so bad that they believe that the only way out is to take their own life.

We have to work together. Students, parents, teachers, everyone needs to work to bring this to an end.

Nobody should have to feel alone.

Linda’s grief will never go away and her daughter will never come back.

Cassidy’s story has moved thousands, and I hope that it will  continue to get through to many more.

Click the like button below to help fulfil Cassidy’s last wish to spread the word and stop bullying!

If the rise of social media has given birth to one thing positive, it’s that people can now share information at an unprecedented pace.

This also means that warnings over potential dangers can make their way around within a very short amount of time, making us all – in theory at least – a little safer.

A few years ago, one such warning was issued by a mom whose son developed a strange, red grid-like mark on his skin after collecting some tree branches one day A short time later he was being rushed to the ER. Now, Andrea Pergola wants everyone to know something that could potentially save lives…

When Andrea’s 15-year-old son Logan was collecting tree branches as part of his volunteer work, he felt a momentary sharp pain when something stung him.

Within minutes, a red grid-like mark had appeared on his arm, and before long it had become a full-blown rash. The rash spread up his arm to his chest, and the area soon burned with an unbearable pain.

Not only that, but Logan experienced dizziness and grew pale. His mom washed the area and rubbed garlic on it in an attempt to pull the venom out (this is often said work with bug stings). Try as she might though, nothing seemed to have an effect.

It was Logan’s grandfather who located the bug that had stung Logan. He donned thick gloves, placed it in a bag and examined it closer.

It was a caterpillar, one both “cute” and fuzzy. It also transpired to be one of the most poisonous caterpillars in all of North America. After conducting some research online, Andrea realized she had to get Logan to the ER, and fast.

“Please research this caterpillar, be aware of it and make your kids aware of it,” Andrea wrote on Facebook.

“It is not native to Florida, but to Texas, and just happens to live here now. Please if you are stung or your kid is stung get to the ER and let them treat you. I can assure you — we didn’t realize he had been stung so many times and normal over-the-counter Benadryl would not have treated this at home.”

Watch more on Logan’s ordeal – and his mom’s subsequent warning – below:

Have you ever seen anything like this? Let us know in the comments.