Major weight loss for The Cut role took toll on Orlando Bloom
Actor Orlando Bloom has revealed losing more than 20kg for his latest film role left him battling exhaustion, paranoia and intrusive thoughts.
The 48-year-old stars as a retired boxer in psychological drama The Cut, and has revealed how the preparation took a major toll on both his physical and mental health.
“I was just exhausted,” he said in an ITV interview.
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Bloom worked with nutritionist Philip Goglia, who is known for advising Hollywood actors including Christian Bale.
He said Goglia reduced his daily meals from three to two.
“Suddenly, all these foods were being taken away from me, and my protein powder was the last one,” he said.
“I was like, ‘No! Don’t take that one’. Then basically I came down to (eating) just tuna and cucumber for the last three weeks.”
The actor said the extreme diet left him experiencing paranoia and intrusive thoughts.
“We’re supposed to eat and sleep and take care of ourselves,” Bloom said.
“It’s really a commentary on the lengths a person will go to have that second shot. I think that’s so relatable.”
Bloom, best known for roles in Pirates of the Caribbean and The Lord of the Rings, said Goglia regularly monitored his blood throughout the process.
He compared the process to athletes who cut weight, but noted that actors “take it to the extreme” in the short periods before filming.
The actor recalled lying down between takes on set, only to get up to do push-ups before the camera rolled “to look a little bit bulkier”.
Though he managed to endure the diet, Bloom said he would not recommend it.
He told People about how his transformation left him struggling to rest: “Turns out you can’t sleep when you’re hungry.”
The Cut, which is yet to be released, follows Orlando’s character - a former boxer whose career ended in defeat.
When he begins to train for redemption, “an obsession takes hold and reality unravels - and he may be spiralling into something far more terrifying”, according to a synopsis of the movie.
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