Hollywood star Riz Ahmed is opening up about how he had to shed 22 pounds in only three weeks to get into character for his new film, Mogul Mowgli.
The 38-year-old Oscar-nominated actor said he was able to do that through the assistance of professional dieticians.
“I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone. It was really grueling and took me emotionally to an intense place, which probably informed the movie,” he said to IndieWire.
"That was a big part of it, being in a place of weakness and fatigue and insatiable hunger,” he added.
Mogul Mowgli, co-written by Ahmed and director Bassam Tariq, encircles the life of a British-Pakistani rapped named Zed, diagnosed with degenerative autoimmune disease.
The Sound of Metal star went on to quote his fellow actor Daniel Kaluuya when talking about the role’s physical demands.
“Dan Kaluuya said something I liked: ‘If you’re in your head, you’re dead,'” the British actor said. “I think that’s true. Acting has to be in your body. Anything that brings you into your body centers you, and you can perform in that place.”