Orlando Bloom Says He Thought He Was Going To Die While Losing Weight For His New Movie

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·2-min read

This post contains discussion of body image issues.

Sounds like Orlando Bloom's latest film role wasn't exactly a peachy-keen dream to film.

Orlando Bloom smiles, wearing a white t-shirt and a casual beige jacket
Getty Images

So, Orlando's upcoming flick The Cut just premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival. The movie centers around a boxer struggling to make weight for an upcoming match. It sounds pretty intense.

Orlando Bloom smiles at a red carpet event, wearing a black blazer over a white shirt. The backdrop features various logos for TIFF and Ontario
/ JA/Everett Collection

And according to a new interview with People, it was a physically taxing experience for the actor in real life as well.

Orlando Bloom smiles, wearing a beige suit jacket over a white dress shirt, minimal background
Stephane Cardinale - Corbis / Corbis via Getty Images

“I was very hangry,” he said of his experience engaging in drastic weight loss for the sake of the film. “The last three weeks in London, before we started filming, were just tuna and cucumber.”

Orlando Bloom at the Breakthrough Prize event, wearing a black tuxedo with a bow tie, standing in front of a backdrop with event branding
Lester Cohen / Getty Images for Breakthrough Prize

He went on to explain that a nutritionist who worked on the film “had me on a strict regime to tear me down, so that we started the film at my lightest weight. And then I put on weight as we filmed.”

Orlando Bloom is dressed in a sharp, black tuxedo with a black bow tie, standing against a backdrop with floral elements and the letters "OD" in the background
Steve Granitz / FilmMagic

“I literally thought I was gonna die," he said about the process.

Orlando Bloom smiles, wearing sleeveless, V-neck gray checked shirt and blue-tinted sunglasses
Mega / GC Images

Orlando also said that his fiancée Katy Perry was "freaked out" when she saw the film for a first time. “She watched it and was like, ‘I need a stiff drink,'" he claimed, later adding that she cried during the film's premiere. “She was really moved. She knew what it took.”

Katy Perry and Orlando Bloom at the Breakthrough Prize event. Katy wears an off-shoulder black gown and holds a clutch. Orlando wears a black tuxedo
Steve Granitz / FilmMagic

Even Orlando's costars were a bit unnerved by the extreme results. Caitriona Balfe, who plays his wife and trainer in the film, said that his face was "gaunt" before filming started. “The transformation was shocking… I was like, ‘You look like a raisin,'" she said.

Orlando Bloom, Caitriona Balfe, and John Turturro pose in a room. Hathaway is seated on a yellow chair, wearing jeans and a blazer. Brody and Turturro stand beside her
Gareth Cattermole / Getty Images for IMDb

Fellow costar (and, might I add, absolute legend) John Turturro also joked that “the only reason [Bloom] put himself through this" was the paycheck.

Gavin Hood, Caitriona Balfe, John Turturro, and Orlando Bloom at a Variety event, standing together in casual and semi-formal clothing against a sponsor backdrop
Variety / Variety via Getty Images

Personally, you couldn't pay me enough to make myself feel like I was going to die, but what do I know? I'm no actor. Anyway, read the whole interview here.

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