The film's shooting was between the years 1998 and 2000, but was not shot consecutively. Hanks gained 50 pounds (23 kg) during pre-production to make him look like a pudgy, middle-aged man. After a majority of the film was shot, production was halted for a year so that he could lose the weight and grow his hair and beard to look like he had been living on the island for years. During the year-long hiatus, Zemeckis used the same film crew to make another film, What Lies Beneath.[2]