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Topics: Film and TV, Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, Chris Hemsworth
Daisy Phillipson
Topics: Film and TV, Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, Chris Hemsworth
Ahead of the anticipated release of Thor: Love and Thunder, actor Natalie Portman has revealed the unusual eating habits she and her co-star Tessa Thompson took on in order to get ripped for their roles.
The Marvel film, which will no doubt prove to be just as big a hit as the previous Thor instalments, sees Thompson reprise her role as Valkyrie – although this time she's the King of New Asgard.
Portman is similarly returning to the franchise as a new version of her former character, as she's set to wield the Mjönir to become Mighty Thor.
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Rather than relying solely on special effects, both stars underwent a strict diet and training regime to get hench for their roles, with many commenting on their jacked physiques in preview material ahead of the MCU movie's release.
In a recent interview with Extra TV, Portman offered an insight into the food they had to eat to prepare for the film – first and foremost, they had to consume a lot.
"It was great, because I think women are usually asked to get as small as possible and, you know, almost disappear," she said.
"So to be asked to get as big as possible, eat as much as you can, lift as much as you can, is a pretty wild, once-in-a-lifetime kind of request."
When asked what kinds of foods she included in her diet, the Black Swan star replied: "I'm vegan, so there were a lot of vegan protein shakes... like, too many. A lot of lentils, because you're really trying to have clean, good protein.
"I mean, there was plenty of other stuff, too. I love food."
Portman went on to say that this was the first time she'd been asked to bulk up for a role, but luckily her co-stars Thompson and Chris Hemsworth – who have both had to do the same for their previous Marvel projects – were on hand to help.
Although there was one tip in particular that might leave fans a bit baffled. We'll let her explain: "I remember with Tessa, I was complaining one day because there was asparagus at every meal for about a week.
"It was like breakfast, lunch and dinner with asparagus in it. And I was like, 'Is that the only thing that's available right now?'
"And she said, 'Actually, I asked for that because it's really good for losing water weight in a healthy way and that's really important for making the muscles pop.' I was like, 'Hot tip Tessa, now I won't complain about that.'"
To be fair, the results paid off and both Thompson and Portman look set to dominate as King Valkyrie and Mighty Thor in the upcoming flick.
Thor: Love and Thunder is being released in the UK on 7 July and in the US on 8 July.
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