Gladiator 2 star on Hollywood training programmes: "They lie"

"Whenever you hear somebody saying they ate 7,000 calories in a day, I think they're lying."

We all know how it sounds when Chris Hemsworth, Hugh Jackman, The Rock, Mark Wahlberg and everyone else goes from fit to bodybuilding monsters in a matter of months. Chicken! Broccoli! Of course, even the lead actor in the upcoming Gladiator 2 (Paul Mescal) knows this, who has certainly trained for the role, but calls these movie star diets and training programmes what they actually are: Lies.

In an interview with Esquire, Paul Mescal said:
"I think it goes without saying that if you're playing a gladiator you've got to be fit and strong. But I think a film like Gladiator is different because, to me, it's not a superhero film where half that gig is, to my mind, just getting big and strong. This is like, Russell had to be strong in this because it makes sense for his character. And I think there is way more interesting questions and conversations to be had about films like this rather than, 'How many calories did you eat in a day?' Which I'm convinced is always... Whenever you hear somebody saying they ate 7,000 calories in a day, I think they're lying. But yeah, it's been really interesting. It's not something that I've done before, but I love my trainer. It's starting to get addictive. Big boots to fill, for sure."

What do you think about these miracle diets and training programmes?