“I Drank Chicken”: The Extreme Measures Actors Take for Incredible Physiques

Wondering how to eat and train to look like a boxing legend, a superhero, or simply a stylish, fit man?

We’ve previously explored how Dwayne Johnson, the former wrestler turned action star, maintains his impressive physique. While he stays consistently in peak shape, many actors must rapidly build muscle during pre-production phases—often within tight timeframes.

Here, we reveal four key strategies actors and their trainers use to transform their bodies into enviable masterpieces in record time.

High-Calorie, Nutrient-Dense Diets

Muscle gain requires consuming more calories. Typically, an extra 400–600 calories are recommended, but when time is limited, actors often consume 1.5 to 2 times their maintenance calories. Importantly, these calories come exclusively from wholesome, nutrient-rich foods.

"I consumed around 4,000 calories daily, sometimes up to 4,500 when bulking. Then, during cutting phases, I reduced to 3,000–3,500 calories. But these weren’t indulgent calories: chicken, fish, sometimes steak. Protein six times a day. Steamed veggies, occasionally brown rice. Protein shakes and zero alcohol or sugar."
— Hugh Jackman

Actors eliminate alcohol, sugars, bread, and pastries, focusing on steamed vegetables, broccoli, egg whites, fish, turkey, brown rice, and an impressive volume of chicken.

"The toughest part was the food. You have to consume massive calories, and it’s not fun calories. Lots of chicken breast. I ate so much chicken breast! The hardest part was chewing it all, so I blended it and literally drank chicken."
— Zac Efron

Giving up comfort foods is mentally challenging, so actors often include “cheat meals” — brief periods when they can indulge freely. These moments turn ordinary meals into a special treat.

"I had cheat meals on Saturdays. While filming in London and training hard, my trainer noticed my motivation fading after five months of broccoli and chicken breast. He took me to an Italian restaurant and said, ‘Order anything you want.’ I had pizza, pasta, tiramisu... Just thinking about it makes me emotional."
— Alexander Skarsgård

Intense Workouts Five Days a Week

Eating with a large calorie surplus goes hand-in-hand with rigorous strength training. Actors often train daily, sometimes twice a day, to maximize muscle growth.

"I trained about three hours daily."
— "Every day?"
"Yes, but not always with weights. Strength training was five times a week."
"Did you use machines or free weights?"
"Mostly free weights to avoid injuries. I got injured more on machines. Key exercises included squats, deadlifts, bench presses, single-arm lifts, and overhead presses."
— Hugh Jackman

Michael Jordan gained 24 pounds (11 kg) of muscle preparing for the movie ‘Creed,’ combining boxing and strength workouts.

"Brown rice, chicken, broccoli, 5.6 liters of water, and 2–3 workouts daily, six days a week for 18 months. Your body will transform."
— Michael Jordan

Gerard Butler trained with two different coaches for ‘300 Spartans,’ sometimes working out on set to achieve jaw-dropping muscle definition.

"I trained for seven months, starting 3–4 months before filming with my personal trainer, then adding the film’s trainer. Sometimes I worked out up to four hours a day."
— Gerard Butler

Muscle and strength gains can be accelerated. Trainer Jason Walsh prepared Bradley Cooper for ‘American Sniper’ in just three months.

"Chris Kyle was 225 lbs (102 kg), a seasoned military man. Bradley Cooper was 185 lbs (84 kg), a beginner with no prior strength training experience."
— Jason Walsh

Cooper trained five days a week, with four days featuring two sessions: early morning workouts lasting 60–90 minutes, followed by afternoon sessions. The regimen emphasized heavy compound lifts like trap-bar deadlifts.

This intense schedule paid off: Cooper gained 40 pounds (18 kg) of muscle in 12 weeks, and the scenes where he deadlifts 400 pounds (180 kg) are authentic.

Combining Strength, Cardio, and Conditioning

For rapid muscle gain, heavy strength training takes priority, but cardio and conditioning are essential to build muscle while minimizing fat gain.

Hugh Jackman incorporated daily long cardio sessions alongside strength work, including CrossFit-style varied workouts.

"I lost size doing CrossFit. I trained two hours each morning—an hour cardio, then weights. In the afternoon, I combined cardio and strength, doing things I didn’t want to do: rowing, front squats, deadlifts."
— Hugh Jackman

Dwayne Johnson starts his day with a cardio run before breakfast.

"I wake at 4 a.m., do 40–45 minutes of cardio, then eat breakfast and complete about an hour of strength and conditioning. Later, I do a cardio-strength combo and stretching for about 1 hour 45 minutes."
— Dwayne Johnson

For ‘300 Spartans,’ the actors’ trainer emphasized cardio and conditioning alongside strength, including circuit training with gymnastics, resistance bands, kettlebells, and tire flips.

Workouts varied constantly to prevent adaptation and continuously stimulate muscle growth.

High-intensity CrossFit-style workouts helped John Krasinski prepare for his role as a Navy SEAL in ‘13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi.’

His trainer Jason Walsh shared that Krasinski performed extensive conditioning to burn fat without losing muscle.

"We finished sessions with intense conditioning: sled pushes and pulls, weight lifts and throws, jumps, sprints, and thrusts, with minimal rest."
— Jason Walsh

Discipline, Consistency, and Patience

Transforming one’s body is a lengthy journey. Even with strict diets, calorie surpluses, and intense training, the body needs time to build muscle and shed fat.

Hugh Jackman once hoped to become Wolverine in three weeks but soon realized it required much more time.

"In my first video, I knew nothing. I was a skinny guy in a London musical. I thought, ‘Three weeks? I can become Wolverine.’ The first scene where I take off my shirt wasn’t filmed until four months later because I wasn’t ready. I called Dwayne Johnson, who said, ‘You need at least six months.’"
— Hugh Jackman

Henry Cavill took nine months to achieve his stunning physique—five months before filming and four months during.

"It’s a long, complex process requiring knowledge and guidance. When it gets tough and you want to quit, that's exactly when you must push forward."
— Henry Cavill

Chris Pratt also emphasizes that time, discipline, and consistent workouts are essential for a great physique.

"People want to know the secret. There’s no quick fix. It takes eight months, a year, or a lifetime of consistent training and proper nutrition—not starvation, but feeding your body right. You have to burn out the junk and replace it with real food. Eight months isn’t long; time passes whether you act or not. Who do you want to be in eight months starting today? If you want to be fit, start now."
— Chris Pratt

Perhaps the biggest reason actors achieve rapid transformations is motivation. When a stunning physique means a lucrative role, resisting a slice of pizza is far easier than doing it for oneself.

Find your motivation, and turning your body into a masterpiece becomes far more attainable.

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