Why Male Movie Stars Give Up Their Diets Once Filming’s Over

No carbs and tons of bland fish? No thanks.

Robert Pattinson at a premier for "The Batman."
This man is about to take a well-deserved break from training.
Photo by Mike Marsland/WireImage

Don’t even think about serving Robert Pattinson “a piece of white fish with just a lemon on it.”

For a little while, at least. The 35-year-old star of The Batman, which premieres this Friday, described his training regimen and diet in an interview with On Demand Entertainment, and he seems pretty excited to leave it in the rearview.

“Training is a lot more fun when you kind of get good at it,” he said. “Once you pass over the six-week mark, then it’s alright. Then you feel bad if you’re not doing it. That’s kind of what everyone says … No matter how many times you realize: if I just maintain it it’s going to be great and I won’t have to experience the bad part again, as soon as the job’s done it’s like no. I’m not going to train once.”

Zoë Kravitz, who plays Catwoman in the film, echoed Pattinson’s sentiments: “[Now] I can order this pizza!”

For one, this ought to firmly put the whole “Did Robert Pattinson bother getting in shape?” saga to bed. As he cleared up earlier this year, he was only kidding when he referenced an untouched Bosu ball in an interview with GQ back in 2020. (The flip remark — which came during peak quarantine, mind you — really bothered the franchise’s biggest fanboys.)

In reality, Pattinson spent months building up muscle, before cutting in time for shooting, and all the while trained in Jiu-Jitsu for the film’s involved fight scenes.

In the On Demand Entertainment interview, he strongly implies that the regimen got him into the best shape of his life. But he doesn’t seem at all inclined to bring its rigid structure, or bland diet, into future projects. Which … is a recurring theme for movie stars. Last month, Channing Tatum revealed that he almost turned down Magic Mike 3 because he basically has to starve himself to attain that billboard-worthy torso.

“Even if you do work out, to be in that kind of shape is not natural,” he said. “You have to starve yourself. I don’t think when you’re that lean it’s actually healthy for you.”

Those comments are reminiscent of Zac Efron’s exit interview after filming the 2017 reboot of Baywatch. Every men’s magazine on the planet was eager for tips and tricks on how the former High School Musical star had achieved his perfect six-pack, but Efron resolutely disavowed his training: “I never want to be in that good of shape again.”

He described nine-day stretches of zero carbohydrates and sugar, as well as only grass-fed protein and leafy greens — which are both important to a diet, but as he figured out himself, should never comprise an entire diet.

It’s unlikely that this system is going to change anytime soon. These are coveted jobs, and there will always be a long line of Hollywood neophytes eager to train six hours a day and never eat a donut again if it means having a shot at playing Batman. But it’s important that guys like Pattinson, Tatum and Efron have started to level with us and communicate that there is nothing natural, realistic or healthy about their bodies, no matter how much others may covet them.

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