'In the Heart of the Sea' Movie Cast, Trailer & Release Date: Chris Hemsworth Takes Body Transformation for Film Too Far? [See Photos]

Chris Hemsworth has been regarded as one of Hollywood's most attractive leading men. However, many were shocked when pictures of the 'Thor' actor surfaced online, revealing a very drastic transformation for upcoming movie, 'In The Heart of The Sea'.

The 32-year-old actor plays Owen Chase in his latest film project. Chase is a sailor whose whaling ship. The Essex is capsized by a bull sperm whale. The attack leaves the crew shipwrecked for 90 days and more than a thousand miles from land. The survivors sails for South America and are forced to take drastic measures, including cannibalism, to stay alive. Chase's story is what inspired the Herman Melville work of fiction, Moby-Dick, reports Los Angeles Times.

Hemsworth, who is usually rough and rugged in most of his film portrayals, surprised many of his fans when the actor posted a shirtless selfie on his Instagram page last Sunday. The normally muscular actor was barely recognizable, as he sported a gaunt frame which alarmed many of his followers, thinking that Hemsworth took the transformation for his role too far.

The former 'Sexiest Man Alive' admitted that filming the Ron Howard film was one of the most challenging roles that he ever had to play. He told Entertainment Tonight that in order to prep himself for the role of Chase, he had to eat only 500-700 calories a day. While Hemsworth does not look as gaunt or grizzly in the film's latest trailer, his latest Instagram post is a stark comparison.

Hemsworth told the magazine back in July that it had gotten to be really uncomfortable when the entire cast had to drop their calorie intake for a month. All of them, he shared were together in their misery. He added that he spent a lot of time thinking about food during the 'starvation period' he called the 'Lost at Sea' diet.

The 'Avengers' star was recently asked who he favoured for Katniss' heart in 'The Hunger Games' franchise. The actor confirmed that he was on "Team Peeta" on Twitter. Chris' younger brother, Liam Hemsworth plays Gale Hawthorne, Katniss Everdeen's best friend and hunting partner in the series. While many fans still argue if they are on Team Peeta or Team Gale, Hemsworth does not seem to take his brother's back when answering the burning question on Twitter.

"In The Heart of The Sea" is set to hit theatres on Dec. 11, 2015.