British actor Will Poulter has recently opened up about his intense experience in trying to achieve the 'Marvel body'.
The 27-year-old, who starred as Billy Cutler in Hulu's drama series Dopesick last year, discussed his views on the extreme bodily transformation he had to undergo for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3.
The new film, set to air 5 May in 2023, will see Chris Pratt reprise his role as Star-Lord alongside Poulter, who will play Adam Warlock.
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Acting alongside Zoe Saldaña who will play Gamora and Dave Bautista who will portray Drax the Destroyer, Poulter has recently advised fans that he would not recommend his Marvel diet and training process to anyone.
Poulter has dubbed the transformation both 'unhealthy' and 'unrealistic' if you don't look after your physical and mental health in the process.
The Black Mirror: Bandersnatch actor revealed in an interview with The Independent some details about his relentless training programme to transform into his character for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3.
Marvel describes the character as being 'genetically engineered by scientists to be the perfect being', and it is this exact concept that Poulter finds so 'unrealistic'.
"It's difficult talking about it because, with Marvel, it's all secret squirrel," the Midsommar actor began.
He continued to outline the detrimental effects of such a total and rapid bodily transformation, while noting the tolls it took on both his physical and mental health.
The British actor emphasised: "The most important thing is that your mental and physical health has to be number one, and the aesthetic goals have to be secondary, otherwise you end up promoting something that is unhealthy and unrealistic if you don’t have the financial backing of a studio paying for your meals and training. I’m in a very privileged position in that respect, and I wouldn’t recommend anyone do what I did to get ready for that job.”
Poulter went on to reveal some more details about his diet now that he is in the 'maintenance phase' of the transformation process; he explained he was 'not eating copious amounts of food to bulk', but he was also 'not cutting'.
Concluding, Poulter noted, "I'm just maintaining my weight," before recounting that he had not touched alcohol since the New Year and, due to this, the 'whole social side' of his life 'has to take a back seat'.
Many have commented on the recurring process that Marvel actors have to undergo for their subsequent roles.
One Twitter user commented, "Will Poulter seems like such a genuine and cool guy, I love seeing actors talk out about the harms of the unrealistic body image for women AND men, I feel like that side isn't discussed often enough and is equally important."
Another dubbed the extreme regime as 'gruelling' and 'damaging to your mental health and stress'.
This isn't the first time Marvel has put actors through immense training and restrictive diets for purely aesthetic reasons.
Chris Hemsworth also went through a huge transformation to look the part of Thor, while Chris Evans also bulked up massively to play Captain America.
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is set to be in cinemas May 5th 2023.
Topics: Guardians of the Galaxy, Marvel, TV and Film
Rhiannon Ingle