James McAvoy has given a shout-out to Hollywood action heroes such as Dwayne Johnson, Hugh Jackman and Chris Hemsworth for their dedication towards gruelling workout regimes.
The actor, whose last release was Glass in which he reprised his role of multiple-personality sufferer Kevin Wendell Crumb, hired Magnus Lygdback as personal trainer to achieve the required physique.
Lygdback has trained Gal Gadot for Wonder Woman 1984 and Alicia Vikander for Tomb Raider.
“I was like, ‘OK. I’m going to have my shirt off, aren’t I?’ And (Shyamalan) was like, ‘Yep.’
“Guys like The Rock and Hugh Jackman and Chris Hemsworth – the guys who keep themselves in that condition every day. That dedication is incredible,” McAvoy told USA Today.
One of Kevin’s split personalities is the Beast, the dark, animal-like persona which required him to be in shape.
“I knew I had to get down in the gym and kind of back up his name. I had to give a little bit of aesthetic credibility to that fear that he’s supposed to inspire in people. You’re in every day working your socks off (acting), and you’re also in the gym at five in the morning and then pretty much working out on set whenever you are the Beast to get you all pumped up and get your veins popping and get the relevant muscles swollen for the shot,” McAvoy said.
“He’s not like a supervillain in most movies who is like, ‘I look like I’ve got a six pack and I’m going to destroy the world!’ He is not a megalomaniacal, despotic human. He is alien. He is animal. He is other than human. Just standing still as the Beast was tiring in a way that no other character is,” he added.
