Jonathan Majors Ate 6,100 Calories a Day for His Bodybuilder Movie
2023 is going to be one hell of a year for Jonathan Majors. In addition to squaring up against Michael B. Jordan in boxing sequel Creed III, he is also about to make his big-screen debut as supervillain Kang the Conquerer, a Thanos-level threat sure to make the Avengers all tremble, in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Both roles required an enormous amount of training, with Majors playing Kang as a "warrior" and sculpting a physique to match—but the actor's most dramatic transformation is in Magazine Dreams, where he plays a troubled bodybuilder who becomes increasingly, self-destructively obsessed with achieving physical perfection.
In a recent interview with Variety at the Sundance Film Festival, Majors shared some insight into the rigorous bodybuilder diet and exercise routine he stuck to while preparing for the role of Killian.
"I'm 6 feet tall. I'm 202 pounds," he said. "In order to sustain that and to grow that you have to eat as much protein that you weigh. I ate 6,100 calories a day for about four months. That included the pre-work and the post-work of Creed III."
"The normal bodybuilder works out two times a day," he added. "I’m playing Killian Maddox… Playing him you don’t fuck around. What ended up happening is I would train two hours, two times a day for the movie and a third time after wrap. Meanwhile, you eat six times a day. Lots of chicken. Lots of elk. That’s just for me. I like it."
Majors is back to just one workout a day, and he's dialled back on the eating since those projects wrapped, but he still likes to eat, and he takes any opportunity to exercise that he can. "I played football in Texas. I got an appetite," he said. "I really like being physical. I like hiking and running. I've got dogs. I'm only 33… I got to do something to stay with it."
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