Five Things You Didn’t Know about John Malkovich

56th San Sebastian Film Festival: 'Burn After Reading'

There are very few actors on this Earth who are quite as talented (or as quirky) as John Malkovich. Being able to go from charming to menacing at the drop of a hat shows you just how talented he is. But there are many people who think the man in real life is even quirkier than the characters he portrays. We thought we would take a moment to help further this belief with five things you didn’t know about John Malkovich.

He Used To Be A Chubby Kid

One of five siblings, him and his kin were often left home alone to fend for themselves because their parents were always working. He was picked on quite a bit for being chubby, and this followed him through most of his youth. That is, until he reached sixteen and decided to he needed to lose some weight, at which point….

He Lost 70 Pounds From Eating Only Jello for Two Months

Because of course he did. We told you his real life is more insane and quirky than the characters he portrays on screen. Yes, John Malkovich lost 70 pounds at the age of sixteen from eating Jello and only Jello. And he never gained the weight back after that. Wait, is the Jello diet thing still a “thing”? Because it sounds equal parts insane and useful.

He Was A School Bus Driver

When you see Malkovich, you have to wonder what his life was like before he became a famous and eccentric actor. The truth is, he held down many jobs to help make ends meet before acting started paying off for him. One of those jobs was a school bus driver. I know we call him quirky, but there is also something slightly ominous about the man. We have this odd feeling not too many kids acted up on that bus ride.

Loves Knitting

Man, the deeper we go down the John Malkovich rabbit hole, the genuinely weirder and more awesome it becomes. Seems the actor has a real penchant for needlepoint and knitting. Friends say they see him doing it for hours at a time. Can you just imagine getting on a bus and looking for a seat, only to spot John Malkovich working on a needlepoint? Man, reality is stranger than fiction.

He Lives With His Family in Massachusetts

When you think about a person like John Malkovich, you imagine him in a place like Los Angeles or maybe some of the more bizarre, artistic parts of New York. Truth is, he lives quietly with his family in Cambridge, Massachusetts. For those who have never been, it is an absolutely stunning city that still looks like Colonial New England from way back when it was discovered. It is a more slow-paced city, filled with some genuinely nice people. So it is both strange and sensible to imagine him ending up there with his family. Sitting in his quiet home with his family working on knitting a blanket while eating some Jello. The man is truly one in a million.

See, you thought he was strange. You suspected as much, and you were right. Though he claims his penchant for anger and violence are overstated, to us he just seems like a strange, talented man. We are just wondering what else we would have found out had we gone any further down the rabbit hole.

(Photo by Carlos Alvarez/Getty Images)

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