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Extreme dieting: Hong Kong actor was left looking like a cancer victim – when all he wanted was the perfect body

American Brian Burrell has acted in dozens of Hong Kong films and TVB dramas, but his efforts to look right for a variety of parts meant he took drastic measures to lose weight. He reveals some of his worst experiences

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Hong Kong actor Brian Burrell has been through a number of extreme diet fads. Photo: Courtesy of Brian Burrell

Hong Kong actor Brian Burrell initially decided to take fitness and diet seriously when he landed his first role in a big movie.

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That was in 2008 and the film was Ip Man 2: Legend of the Grandmaster. He played a ringside announcer and translator. Burrell, who is from Salt Lake City, in the American state of Utah, found himself working alongside Darren Shahlavi, an English actor previously cast as a stuntman in 300, an epic war movie known for its six-packed warriors.

“Darren and I were about the same age at the time,” said Burrell, who is now 46. “So he truly inspired me to take better care of myself and I started reading and learning everything that I could.”

Burrell settled in Hong Kong permanently in 1999, and has acted in dozens of movies and TVB dramas. He is fluent in four languages – English, Khmer, and two forms of Chinese, Cantonese and Mandarin – and has a degree in Chinese Literature and Asian Studies from the University of Utah.

His personality is one of extremes. Pushing himself to the limit in all aspects of life is his way, and diet and fitness were no different. Weighing some 127kg (280 pounds) when he started his acting career, Burrell began testing out various nutritional plans. He soon turned himself into a human “guinea pig” as he shed weight rapidly.

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Brian Burrell in 2009 before he started dieting in earnest. Photo: Handout
Brian Burrell in 2009 before he started dieting in earnest. Photo: Handout
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