Chris Hemsworth is one of the biggest movies stars in the world, and his time in the MCU as Thor has made him a household name. Hemsworth has done plenty of work outside of the MCU, but playing Thor in some of the biggest films of all time is certainly what global audiences know him from.
Earlier in his career, Chris Hemsworth underwent an incredible physical transformation for In the Heart of the Sea, which saw the normally buff actor looking like a shriveled version of the God of Thunder.
So, how did he pull it off? Let’s take a look at his diet for In the Heart of the Sea.
Hemsworth Is Known For His Physique
Chris Hemsworth is a true A-list star in Hollywood, and while he is known for a number of things, including his impressive comedic chops, his physique is certainly near the top of the list. To put it simply, the man is an physical powerhouse while playing the God of Thunder in the Marvel cinematic universe.
While not every single superhero in the MCU is a jacked like an action figure, Hemsworth has had no problems with packing on the muscle to play Thor. His recent picture with Taika Waititi on the set of Thor: Love and Thunder shows just how much muscle he has put on to play Thor this time around. Considering that he is also playing Hulk Hogan soon, we can only imagine how huge Hemsworth is going to get.
Transforming his body by beefing up is one thing, but Hemsworth has not shied away from cutting a significant amount of weight for a role, as well. It doesn’t happen as often, but for one particular film, the actor underwent a dramatic transformation that caught fans by surprise.
He Had To Lose Weight For ‘In The Heart Of The Sea’
For In the Heart of the Sea, the normally buff Hemsworth was having to cut a considerable amount of weight, and this was quite difficult. He had to lose over 30 lbs. in a short amount of time, and he and his co-stars were forced to put in a Herculean effort to make this happen.
Ron Howard, the film’s director, said, “They had to work out every day, even on shooting days. Because they had to lose the weight pretty fast and they had to lose it safely. They needed to keep burning the calories and we also needed that sinewy strength that was more of that era, as opposed to a kind of cut, buff look.”
This type of cut was a stark contrast to the work that Hemsworth had done on movies like Thor, and it was a huge switch for him.
When comparing losing weight to gaining it for a film, Hemsworth said, “The gaining is fine, you just eat a lot and you lift weights but that was underfed, which led to a pretty moody existence and inconsistent emotions.”
To lose weight, Hemsworth said, “You play all sorts of games – if I eat this maybe I don’t eat that. The insanity is nuts.”
Needless to say, the diet that Hemsworth was having to use to achieve the character’s look was an unpleasant one.
His Diet Plan Was Rough
According to Hemsworth, his diet was reduced down to 500 calories per day, which is shockingly low. A normal diet can consist of up to 2,000 calories or more each day, meaning that he was taking in a quarter of what he needed. On top of that, as Ron Howard noted, Hemsworth was also working out nearly every single day.
As far as his diet, Hemsworth noted that it was a lot of boiled eggs, salad, and “nothing much.”
His diet and exercise plan helped his performance in the film, as Hemsworth noted that, “In order to do it justice, the story, we had to suffer in some way and we did. In other words, not a whole lot of acting was required. We were desperate.”
Released back in 2015, In the Heart of the Sea, which carried a 9-figure budget, wound up underwhelming at the box office, grossing less than $100 million. This wasn’t what the cast and crew were hoping for after putting in an extreme amount of work, but even the biggest blockbusters with the biggest names can fall short of expectations.
It was a rough time cutting weight for In the Heart of the Sea, but Hemsworth was a professional about it and made it happen.