If you thought only actors playing superheroes were expected to get into tip-top physical shape, think again. British actor Jonah Hauer-King stars as Prince Eric in Disney's live-action remake of The Little Mermaid, but apparently his physical preparation for the film got a little carried away.
In an interview with Insider, Hauer-King's trainer Sana Shirvani explained how the COVID-related delays to the filming process meant her client had more time to train than expected. As a result, he started looking less like a prince charming and more like a Marvel comic book hero.
"We got him to that point, and then obviously if he continued training in that capacity, he was only going to get bigger and bigger," Shirvani said of the actor's lean-muscle bodybuilding program. "I remember the director coming up to me and saying, 'We are not after the Incredible Hulk, we want a strong sailor boy.' "
As filming got closer, Shirvani encouraged him to tone it down, reducing him from a caloric surplus diet to a maintenance one. But in the run-up to the film, Hauer-King was on a strict program that included progressive overload training.
"It was a standard bodybuilding program, so we would do, for example, back and biceps, chest and triceps," Shirvani said. "We would focus solely on getting a little bit of strength, a little bit of size into his body... He still was pretty new to gym training, so getting him strong was one of our top priorities."
The Little Mermaid trainer said that the would-be Prince Eric was "so, so dedicated. His professionalism was so good that he just said yes to everything I threw his way."
Disney's live-action The Little Mermaid is in theaters now. It's earned $326.7 million globally so far.
from Men's Journal https://ift.tt/ZRO8Xqf
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