When actors prepare for a role, it usually involves more than just learning lines. US star Austin Butler (“Elvis”) experienced this firsthand, particularly during the preparations for the movie “Dune: Part Two”. The 32-year-old had to build up a lot of muscle for the role of the villain Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen.
The well-known personal trainer Duffy Gaver helped him. The ex-Navy Seal has shaped stars like Chris Hemsworth and Brad Pitt and understands how important physical appearance is for the credibility of a film character. “If an actor doesn’t look like he can do the things he’s supposed to do, I don’t buy it. If the character looks too heavy or too thin or his shoulders and arms aren’t thick enough, I’m out,” said the personal trainer in an interview with “GQ.”
Accordingly, he pushed Butler to his limit during the joint training sessions. “My trainer basically worked me so hard that I would throw up every time,” the “Dune” star tells Yahoo. But the months of intensive training paid off: Butler gained eleven kilograms of muscle mass.
“Dune” star Austin Butler gained eleven kilos of muscle mass – his training plan
His training program consisted of classic old-school exercises, reports Gaver. These included, among other things
Squats, lunges, deadlifts, pull-ups, push-ups, bench presses and shoulder presses.
Butler performed these exercises every day. Over time, he increased the number of repetitions and added more weight. This progressively overloads the muscles, which stimulates muscle growth. “If you can lift 200 pounds, your goal should be 200 or 200 pounds,” Gaver says. “And if you can do four reps with 200 pounds, you should next aim for eight or 10 reps. If you just push the numbers up, you’ll make progress.”
The personal trainer constantly teased him with the repetitions, Butler reports. Gaver neither specified a specific number of repetitions nor did he count them. “And when you get to the point where you’re at the end and can barely do one rep, he says, ‘Okay, do ten more,'” says the 32-year-old.
Personal trainer swears by simple dishes when building muscle
In parallel with exercising, the actor also had to adjust his diet. 3000 calories were on the plate every day. Gaver also went old school when it came to choosing food: chicken, broccoli, brown rice – every day.
He doesn’t want to know anything about new trends and hype surrounding muscle building. “The thing is, chicken, broccoli, brown rice and bench presses and squats and deadlifts work and will continue to work – no matter how hard marketing people try to sell their new nonsense,” he says. For “Dune” star Butler, his concept seems obvious