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Getting into a role can take actors to crazy places mentally and physically. These stars dropped everything (and then deadlifted it) to get ripped for a role. And years later, some of them are still dealing with the consequences of their transformations.

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00:00Getting into a role can take actors to crazy places mentally and physically.
00:05These stars dropped everything and then deadlifted it to get ripped for a role,
00:08and years later, some of them are still dealing with the consequences of their transformations.
00:13Now an Academy Award-winning dramatic actor thanks to his leading role in 2022's The Whale,
00:18Brendan Fraser was a bona fide action star in the 90s and early 2000s. To many, the peak of
00:23Fraser's career was The Mummy, a trilogy of action-adventure films that made a solid case
00:27for him being the next Harrison Ford. But just before that, he had to get in shape for the
00:31comedy George of the Jungle, in which he played a man raised in the jungle who wears, eh, not much.
00:37With potentially millions of people seeing him immortalized as a shirtless Tarzan,
00:41Fraser felt a lot of pressure related to his appearance leading up to production.
00:44He began restricting his diet and exercising extensively,
00:48but revealed in a 2022 Variety interview that it was never enough.
00:52Fraser began to cut out meals altogether, a dangerous practice that impacted his mental
00:56faculties. Many will forever know Zac Efron as the musical, theater-loving basketball player
01:02Troy Bolton from 2006's High School Musical. But through a combination of luck, talent,
01:07and hard work, Efron broke through the Disney Channel bubble that made him famous and secured
01:11a career in mainstream Hollywood. Along the way, he appeared in the star-studded 2017 film
01:16adaptation of Baywatch. The film was undoubtedly a daunting challenge for Efron, not least of all
01:21because it saw him sharing top billing with the perpetually jacked Dwayne Johnson. To make sure
01:25he was ready for the role of lifeguard Matt Brody, Efron dove headfirst into an intense
01:30bodyweight regimen with trainer Patrick Murphy.
01:33When I had to get Zac in the best shape of his life, I decided to introduce the supersetting
01:39workout.
01:40Efron told E! News,
01:41Rather than the typical bodybuilding type of movements I have become accustomed to,
01:45Patrick pushed me to my functional limits with a very multifaceted style. Strength,
01:49explosiveness, fast-paced, calculated, diverse, and gut-wrenching workouts. It was fun. You never
01:55know what he's going to throw at you the next day.
01:57When Twilight star Taylor Lautner was required to pack on serious muscle to play Jacob Black
02:02in 2009's New Moon, the task was basically a full-time job. This sequel in the popular teen
02:08franchise sees Lautner's character transform from Bella Swan's quiet childhood friend to a
02:13muscle-bound werewolf competing with a vampire for her affections. Because of his character's
02:17dramatic shift, Lautner told People magazine that he was, quote,
02:20"...forced to be in a gym multiple times a day, six days a week,
02:24building his weight up from 140 pounds to 175 pounds."
02:28Hello, biceps.
02:30He was able to maintain his physique while filming the remainder of the series,
02:34but working out that much wasn't realistic for Lautner long-term.
02:37When living more normally led to minor changes in his build, the general public
02:41criticized his body for years afterward, causing the actor to struggle with body image. Having
02:45grown from this experience, he now cautions others to focus on mental health over physical fitness.
02:51Mixed martial arts fans might be impressed by how Jake Gyllenhaal got ripped to play a
02:54former MMA fighter in 2024's Roadhouse remake, but he's been ready for much longer than they
03:00probably realized. Gyllenhaal replaced Marshal Eminem Mathers on the 2015 sports drama Southpaw,
03:05which had been written with the rapper in mind. Directed by Antoine Fuqua and penned by Kurt
03:10Sutter, the film follows a professional fighter whose life unravels following his wife's murder.
03:14While Eminem would have brought unique emotional authenticity to the role, Gyllenhaal went above
03:18and beyond to physically portray a boxer at the top of his game. He started on the slim side,
03:23having lost 30 pounds for his role in 2014's Nightcrawler, but he managed to look the real
03:27deal in time for the shoot, thanks in part to a daily regimen of 2,000 press-ups. Speaking to
03:32The Independent, the actor revealed that he had five months to get into shape and learn how to
03:36box. He said,
03:37"...I decided to train twice a day so it would give me an advantage,
03:40and it would seem like 10 months of training."
03:42Chris Pratt's Guardians of the Galaxy transformation represents the epitome of,
03:46quote-unquote, normal actors getting ripped for projects. The comedic actor,
03:50then known for playing goofy slacker Andy Dwyer on Parks and Recreation,
03:54made headlines when he was cast as space gondolier Peter Quill in James Gunn's MCU debut.
03:59While people were unable to picture him as Star-Lord at first, Pratt shut his doubters up
04:03with the now-infamous Instagram gym selfie. The photo's caption stated he overhauled his
04:07physique by not drinking beer for six months, but a lot more went into Pratt's transformation than
04:11that. He also did six months of intense bodyweight training with personal trainer Duffy
04:16Gaver, impressed by Pratt's dedication. Gaver told Esquire,
04:19"...Chris would go through his workout and the whole gym would pay attention to him,
04:22not because he was a movie star. He was just a guy who was killing himself in the gym."
04:27Rob McElhenney is a dedicated performer, and he proved it by transforming his body for the sitcom
04:31It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia. He felt that his character, Paddy's pub co-owner Ronald Mac
04:36McDonald, would be funnier with a little more padding around the middle. So, the actor gained
04:40over 60 pounds during a seven-month period. When people got used to that version of his character,
04:45McElhenney realized it would be hilarious if Mac showed up totally jacked one day,
04:49so he got to work on a shocking body transformation.
04:52"...I went straight to the trainer of Magic Mike. I wanna look like Channing Tatum in Magic Mike."
04:59Much was made of McElhenney's ripped new appearance, but the actor was quick to remind
05:03everyone that he was only able to achieve his goals because he had the resources and time to
05:07do so. In a tongue-in-cheek Instagram post, he wrote,
05:09"...Look, it's not that hard. All you need to do is lift weights six days a week,
05:13stop drinking alcohol, don't eat anything after 7 p.m., don't eat any carbs or sugar at all.
05:18In fact, just don't eat anything you like. Get the personal trainer from Magic Mike,
05:22sleep nine hours a night, run three miles a day,
05:25and have a studio pay for the whole thing over a six-to-seven-month span."
05:29Ryan Reynolds was no stranger to superhero movies when he signed on to 2016's Deadpool.
05:33The actor had previously gotten in serious shape to play both vampire hunter Hannibal King in
05:382004's Blade Trinity and DC hero Hal Jordan in the 2011 flop Green Lantern. In fact,
05:44Reynolds had even played Wade Wilson already in X-Men Origins Wolverine in 2009.
05:48But Deadpool was a passion project for Reynolds nearly a decade in the making,
05:52and he wanted to go all out physically. To play the jacked merc with a mouth,
05:55he mixed tailored workouts from trainer Don Saladino with smart nutrition choices to make
06:00sure he gave his body the fuel it needed to grow. Reynolds still uses Saladino to this day,
06:05though they changed up their approach for Deadpool and Wolverine. Speaking to Yahoo!
06:09about his work with Reynolds on the 2024 film, Saladino said,
06:12"...what really became interesting with this project is that the word
06:15resiliency was something I feel like he embraced a lot more. He's now 47,
06:19and he's definitely thinking a little bit differently than he was when I met him,
06:22when he was 32 or 33."
06:25Having played the role of X-Men mutant Wolverine numerous times over the past few decades,
06:29Hugh Jackman is surely used to the physical demands of superhero acting.
06:32Each appearance required him to physically appear as an apex predator, and after his supposed
06:37swan song in 2017's Logan, Jackman thought he was done with his Wolverine body. But then,
06:42Reynolds came knocking.
06:44"...why would I go with you?"
06:45Reynolds convinced Jackman to star alongside him in Deadpool's third solo outing, and with that,
06:502024's Deadpool and Wolverine was born. The Australian A-lister hadn't played Wolverine
06:55in several years by this point, so how did he get back in shape for the third Deadpool film?
06:59But simply with lots of effort. He started an Instagram series under the hashtag
07:03becomingwolverineagain to document his training for his MCU debut. Now that Deadpool and Wolverine
07:08is available worldwide, fans can see the fruits of Jackman's labors in high definition.
07:13Even before he donned Superman's tights and cape, Henry Cavill was someone that put a lot of work
07:17into his physique. In 2011's Immortals, he had to get into fighting shape in order to play the
07:22legendary Greek warrior Theseus. But Cavill aimed to surpass even that level of work when he was
07:26cast as Superman in Zack Snyder's Man of Steel. Working with trainer Mark Twight, Cavill stuck to
07:31an intense weight and bodyweight training regimen that also included elements of martial arts. He
07:36ate between 3,000, 500, and 5,000 calories per day and often slept for 10 hours per night to
07:42give his muscles enough time to heal. Though it ultimately helped him pack on muscle and size,
07:46it also helped him gain the core strengths to perform the extraordinary amount of wire
07:50and stunt work required for the role.
07:52Ben Affleck had already gone through the superhero ringer when he was cast as
07:55Batman in Zack Snyder's Batman v. Superman Dawn of Justice. In addition to playing Superman actor
08:00George Reeves in Hollywoodland, he infamously played superhero and lawyer Matt Murdock in
08:04Fox's 2003 Daredevil film. Whether it was an attempt to rise above this disappointing project
08:10or in reaction to the prospect of facing off against Cavill's gargantuan Clark Kent,
08:14Affleck wanted to completely transform himself for Batman v. Superman.
08:18To get into such good shape, he sought the help of trainer Walter Norton Jr.
08:21The pair had previously worked together on the 2010 crime drama The Town,
08:25where Norton built Affleck up to 198 pounds. For Batman v. Superman,
08:29Affleck got all the way to 225 pounds. As Norton Jr. told Men's Journal,
08:34"...this time around we did more bodybuilding. We wanted him to be strong,
08:37but we wanted to add mass. The volume was higher. We lived on a lot of the basics,
08:4180-pound dumbbell curls, heavy-loaded carries, and farmer's walks for 60-pound weights."
08:46Though superhero fans know him primarily as the MCU's Thanos,
08:50Josh Brolin actually played another comic book antagonist around the same time that he was
08:54causing havoc in Avengers Infinity War. In 2018, Brolin appeared as the time-traveling
08:58mutant Cable in Deadpool 2. Unlike Thanos, which relied on CGI to appear physically imposing,
09:04Cable required Brolin to be a real-life Terminator-esque killing machine.
09:07At 50 years old, with less than three months to get in shape, Brolin was facing an uphill battle.
09:12Embracing the challenge, he worked in the gym three hours a day with trainer Justin Lovato,
09:17primarily to trim down and sculpt his arms and shoulders. Brolin told Entertainment Weekly he
09:21was thrilled with the results, though he admits that it was hard work. He said,
09:24"...I had this great midlife crisis idea. Buy a Ferrari? No. I'll get into shape.
09:29And it was just a dumb decision."
09:31After the disastrous Wild Wild West, Hollywood heavyweight Will Smith needed a win. Luckily,
09:36he found one in Michael Mann's Ali, a sports biopic about the legendary boxer Muhammad Ali.
09:40The star secured a $20 million salary for the role, and was determined to get in the ring
09:45even as the project experienced pre-production hiccups. But the real challenge was getting into
09:49competitive shape. Smith and the studio planned for him to train to be a plausible boxer and
09:53pack on 35 pounds of muscle to match Ali's competitive weight of 210. Originally,
09:58they sought to do this by hiring an entire team of nutritionists and trainers,
10:02but they ultimately needed only one person — world-class boxing trainer Daryl Foster.
10:06Foster's previous clients include world champion and Olympic gold medalist Sugar Ray Leonard,
10:11and he effectively had Smith working out full-time. The pair started with a three-to-five
10:15mile run every morning before several hours of boxing and weight training in the afternoon.
10:19"'Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee!"
10:22Following in Chris Pratt's footsteps, comedian and Silicon Valley star Kumail
10:26Nanjiani wanted to recreate himself as a walking god for the 2021 Marvel film
10:30Eternals, in a role very far from the nerdier characters he played earlier in his career.
10:35The comic book fantasy epic saw Nanjiani as Kingo, a cosmic-powered immortal superhero
10:39turned Bollywood star, enjoying continued fame by posing as his own descendant.
10:43Nanjiani worked with trainer and gym owner Grant Roberts while shooting Silicon Valley,
10:48so he would be ready by the time Eternals began production. Like McElhenney,
10:51he was both excited to share his progress but keen not to spread misleading messages to his fans.
10:55In a viral Instagram post showcasing his transformation, Nanjiani wrote,
10:59"'I would not have been able to do this if I didn't have a full year with the
11:02best trainers and nutritionists paid for by the biggest studio in the world.'"
11:07When James Gunn announced that he would be replacing Henry Cavill with a younger actor
11:10as Superman in his rebooted DC Universe, observers were anxious to see who would
11:15don the iconic red cape next. David Coren Sweat, widely known for appearing in the
11:19period horror flick Pearl, emerged as a clear favorite among fans and eventually won the role.
11:23Of course, that meant he also won the responsibility of getting physically
11:26ready to be one of the strongest characters in comic book history.
11:29Judging by the pictures that have come out so far, Coren Sweat has risen to the challenge,
11:33though we don't yet have all the specifics about how he got ripped for a stint as Superman. We know
11:37that he's been training with specialist Paolo Marchitti, who told British GQ,
11:41"'He's six foot four, but we wanted to put more bulk on him. He probably went
11:45from 200 pounds to 240 pounds, but some of that mass will shed as he continues to tone up.'"

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