Playing a superhero isn’t an easy job. Sure, stunt performers, special effects and computer-generated imagery can make it appear as if you are doing superheroic things, but you also have to look the part. This is why actors playing superheroes have to undergo intense training and diet regimes.
The training routine of Oscar-winning actor Brie Larson, who is starring in the first female-led Marvel film Captain Marvel, will probably discourage other actors from playing superheroes. Her training included 100 kg deadlifts and 200 kg hip thrusts.
Interestingly, her arduous training did not just help her transform into Captain Marvel physically, it also helped her mentally prepare for the role.
“A huge part of Captain Marvel is her strength,” Larson says. “I knew if I could go through that experience, I would get closer to her and I’d understand her.”
Captain Marvel was teased in the post-credit scene of Avengers: Infinity War when Nick Fury contacted her through a pager-like device before vanishing like others in the wake of Thanos’ finger-snap that obliterated half of all life in the universe. She is expected to join the remaining Avengers and take the fight to the Mad Titan.
Captain Marvel also stars Ben Mendelsohn, Djimon Hounsou, Lee Pace, Lashana Lynch, Gemma Chan, Annette Bening, Clark Gregg and Jude Law. It releases on March 8.
