Gal Gadot, Demi Moore and 3 other Hollywood actresses who got ripped for movie roles
From Kumail Nanjiani getting shredded for Marvel’s Eternals to Chris Hemsworth going vegan for Thor, there are plenty of examples in Hollywood of men hitting the gym and getting buff for a particular role. In the spirit of fairness – and since this year’s Oscars sought fit to snub female directors – we acknowledge that guys are not the only ones capable of putting on muscle when the job requires. The results may not be so extreme – we suspect because in large part muscular woman don’t fit Hollywood’s view of a traditional silver screen beauty (yet) – but the same dedication is evident.
Here are five of the most prominent examples.
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Gal Gadot in Wonder Woman
Gal Gadot was a model before she went into acting, so after she landed the role of Amazonian superhero Wonder Woman, she was required to gain muscle to live up the role. To that end, Gadot spent nine months getting ready for her first outing as the DC Comics hero, in 2016’s Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice .
Initially, Gadot was unable to do a single pull-up. By the time the cameras were rolling, she had gained 17 pounds “and it’s all muscle”, she remarked. Gadot’s trainers, Mark Twight and Thomas Bradley, wanted her to look believable as Wonder Woman and got her into a routine that included big bouts of rowing, bear crawls, burpees, pull-ups and ring push-ups.
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Ahead of Batman v Superman’s release, Gadot told Rolling Stone, “I feel so much better now. When you feel strong, it changes everything – your posture, the way you walk. I look at photos from five years ago and think – whoa, I was too skinny.”
Alicia Vikander in Tomb Raider
If living up to real life beauty standards is tough, try matching up to video game standards. Lara Croft, an idealised female form created in 1996, has been consistently portrayed as something of a female Indiana Jones, an athletic adventuress and treasure hunter.
Following on from Angelina Jolie, Alicia Vikander is the second woman to portray Croft. For the 2018 reboot, Vikander added 10 to 12 pounds of muscle to perform the kind of stunts required to match Croft’s video game exploits.
According to her personal trainer, Magnus Lygdbäck, Vikander started getting in shape seven months before filming began, undertaking the kind routine that only professional athletes follow. Her four-day workout plan focused on legs, chest and shoulders, back and shoulders, and biceps and triceps. Vikander ended up gaining some ripped abs, which hopefully made up for the 4am starts the regimen demanded.
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Emily Blunt in Edge of Tomorrow
Any character with a nickname like “Full Metal Bitch” has got to be tough and look the part. On top of needing to appear convincing as a military grunt, in Edge of Tomorrow star Emily Blunt had to carry a futuristic looking exoskeleton that weighed 50 to 60 pounds.
To get where she needed to go, Blunt did two and a half months of training before filming. She paired with LA trainer Jason Walsh (who also worked with Jessica Biel) who revealed he primed Blunt with a series of gruelling sprints up stairs at UCLA’s track facility. When things got too easy he made her wear a 10-pound vest, then a 20-pound vest, all the way up to a 30-pound vest.
Demi Moore in GI Jane
Back in the 90s, Demi Moore was the highest paid woman in Hollywood. She trained and got into peak condition for the 1996 comedy Striptease – and even chat show appearances when promoting the film saw her pushed into wearing very little – but things went up a notch when the actor prepared for GI Jane.
To effectively portray the kind of individual that could suffer Navy Seal training Moore hired an actual Seal instructor, Stephen Helvenston, to help prepare her. She did all her own stunts, including a brutal obstacle course, and memorably shaved all her hair off. In doing all of this, Moore said her intention was to experience first-hand what recruits undergo.
Sadly, despite all the effort she went to, Moore was awarded that year’s Golden Raspberry Award for worst actress.
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Hilary Swank in Million Dollar Baby
On the flipside, one actress who was rewarded for her physical exertions in preparing for a role was Hilary Swank in Million Dollar Baby – for which she won best actress at the Oscars. To accurately portray a rugged boxer, Swank began a fierce bodybuilding routine that added 20 pounds of muscle to her frame, and undertook daily boxing training sessions of two and a half hours. To achieve a lean, muscular look she also had to alter her diet so that she ate 210 grams of protein each day and only 50 grams of carbohydrates.
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Guys are not the only ones capable of putting on muscle when the job requires – as these 5 dedicated physical transformations proove