Orlando Bloom says he lost 52 pounds in 3 months to play a boxer in ‘The Cut’

Orlando Bloom dropped 52 pounds in just three months to play a retired boxer who goes to scary extremes to lose weight in order to compete again in the upcoming drama “The Cut.”

Losing the weight quickly proved to be mentally “challenging” for the 47-year-old actor, who spoke about the process during an appearance at Variety magazine’s Toronto Film Festival Studio.

“I basically tiered down the food over a three-month period until just before filming, (when) I was at my lightest. I dropped 52 pounds, and I was about 185 when I started,” Bloom said.

“So I dropped quite a lot of weight, and I was very mentally challenged as well. You feed somebody tuna and cucumber long enough…” he added.

Bloom, who appeared on the panel alongside director Sean Ellis and co-stars John Turturro and Caitríona Balfe, recalled being fascinated by the changes he experienced while losing weight.

“I was more surprised about the mental aspect of (it), like the sleep deprivation, and not the depleted calories,” he said.

“There’s a lot going on in your brain … living in that headspace for a while was very challenging," he added.

“The Cut,” which is set largely in a hotel room, shows Bloom’s unnamed boxer taking diuretics and draining blood from himself in a desperate attempt to reach his goal weight.

The movie's premiere at the festival Sept. 5 marked the first time the movie's director and actors saw it alongside audience members.

“Somebody in my row passed out!” Bloom shared.

“Yeah, we had a fainter,” added Ellis. “I think we’ve got to put that on the film poster.”

While at the Toronto Film Festival, Bloom told People that his fiancée, Katy Perry, was “freaked out” when she saw “The Cut.”

“She watched it and was like, ‘I need a stiff drink,’” the actor said, per the publication.

He added, “She was really moved. She knew what it took.”

This article was originally published on TODAY.com