50 Cent Drops 50 Pounds For Film

50 Cent has lost 50 pounds – for a new film.

The hip-hop star posted photos of himself looking gaunt and frail on Wednesday on his Web site, ThisIs50.com.

According to the site, the rapper dropped from 214 pounds down to 160 pounds, over the course of only nine weeks for a role in “Things Fall Apart,” in which he plays a cancer-stricken football player.

50 says he lost the weight with a liquid diet and three-hour treadmill sessions.

“‘I was starving,” he told the site, adding that he’s begun bulking back up “I’ve been eating. I’ll be back in shape in no time!”

The star’s previous acting efforts – under his real name, Curtis Jackson — have included “Get Rich Or Die Tryin’,” “Righteous Kill” and “Home of the Brave.”

He’s not the first star to go sickly thin for a role. Others who have lost significant weight for roles in Hollywood include Matt Damon, who dropped 50 pounds himself for 1996’s “Courage Under Fire,” while Christian Bale shrunk down to a lean 121 pounds for 2004’s “The Machinist.”