Anne Hathaway to slim down for Les Misérables role Anne Hathaway, pictured at the London premiere of One Day last year, is losing weight f...

Anne Hathaway to slim down for Les Misérables role

Anne Hathaway, pictured at the London premiere of One Day last year, is losing weight for Les Miserables

Anne Hathaway, pictured at the London premiere of One Day last year, is losing weight for Les Miserables

Hathaway previously lost weight to play Andrea Sachs in The Devil Wears Prada

Ruthie Henshall as Fantine in a 1996 stage production of Les Miserables

Anne Hathaway is having to resort to a drastic diet to lose weight to play her latest role.

The actress, 29, has been ordered to lose 16lbs in less than three weeks to play dying prostitute Fantine in the movie adaptation of Les Miserables.

As fans of the musical classic will know, the single mother ends up with consumption and later appears as a ghost.

Although currently a healthy size 10, Hathaway will have to lose over a stone for her realistic portrayal of a hungry, dying prostitute.

Instead of eating the recommended daily allowance of 2,000 calories a day, the actress is now down to under 500 to achieve the rapid result.

A film source told the Daily Mirror: 'Anne is playing a destitute factory worker-come-lady of the night.

'Unfortunately, she only has 15 to 20 days to lose as much weight as possible - up to a stone-and-a-half - because she’s been filming the scenes showing her fit and healthy, almost slightly chubby.

'It’s not ideal but, as with any high-budget movie, there are strict time constraints.

'Producers have assigned her a personal trainer and she is literally eating nothing more than a couple of apples a day, and some protein – mainly in the form of a shake.'

However, producers are making sure doctors keep a close eye on the actress during the short-term diet.

Hathaway is no stranger to having to lose weight for roles.

Last year, she slimmed down to fit into an unforgiving catsuit to play Catwoman in The Dark Knight Rises.

She started doing Bikram yoga and push-ups and eating vegetables, fish and fruit to shape down.

She also lost weight to play Andrea Sachs in The Devil Wears Prada.

The Les Miserables movie, which also stars Hugh Jackman, Russell Crowe, Eddie Redmayne and Amanda Seyfried, is due to release in December.