Cheeseburgers for breakfast and sleeping in crumbs – how Colin Farrell gained 45lbs for The Lobster
Colin Farrell and inset, in The Lobster
Colin Farrell attending the official screening of The Lobster during the 59th BFI London Film Festival at Vue West End, Leicester Square, London
Colin Farrell (pictured with Rachel Weisz) in The Lobster
Colin Farrell in The Lobster
Colin Farrell (pictured with Rachel Weisz) in The Lobster
Actor Colin Farrell arrives at the Metropolitan Museum of Art Costume Institute Gala (Met Gala) to celebrate the opening of "Manus x Machina: Fashion in an Age of Technology" in the Manhattan borough of New York, May 2, 2016. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson
Colin Farrell ate cheeseburgers for breakfast and slept with crumbs in his bed in order to gain 45 pounds for his role in The Lobster.
During an appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live, the Castleknock-born actor spoke about his dramatic weight gain for the comedy drama.
“I gained about 43 or 45 pounds,” he said.
Usually quite slender, Farrell was hoping that he wouldn’t have to gain any weight for the role.
Colin Farrell (pictured with Rachel Weisz) in The Lobster
“I said to the director, ‘I was thinking maybe the character was a bit thin and I could lose, I mean I’m fairly thin, or even go a little bit thinner,’ and the director very shrewdly and very wisely said, ‘No, if he is too thin then maybe there’s some psychological issue. We don’t want to confuse the audience.’”
“So he said, ‘I think he’s soft,’” he told Kimmel.
The In Bruges star, who will be celebrating his 40th birthday at the end of May, detailed the extensive lengths he went through to gain weight.
“I ate cheeseburgers for breakfast for 48 hours.”
Actor Colin Farrell arrives at the Metropolitan Museum of Art Costume Institute Gala (Met Gala) to celebrate the opening of "Manus x Machina: Fashion in an Age of Technology" in the Manhattan borough of New York, May 2, 2016. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson
“But part of the fun of eating terrible food, trash, which I love to eat, is that you know you’re not supposed to."
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When you’re told you have to, it kind of instantly loses the buzz,” he admitted.
Colin Farrell attending the official screening of The Lobster during the 59th BFI London Film Festival at Vue West End, Leicester Square, London
“And then you get used to sleeping with crumbs in the bed. My first meal of the day for two months was whatever crumbs I didn’t get to finish from the night before,” the True Detective actor said.
Farrell began his acting career over 20 years ago and although he has a Golden Globe under his belt, he confessed that it isn’t always an easy job: “It’s a ridiculous job acting, because what kind of job asks you to do that, outside of sumo wrestling?”
He spent eight weeks gaining the weight for the role and a further eight weeks losing it.
“It was part of the job,” he shrugged.
The 39-year-old was back to his svelte self for the interview, and joked with the comedy presenter about his own weight loss of 25 pounds.
The Lobster is set in the near future where being single is outlawed, and singletons are sent to The Hotel to find a partner in 45 days. If they don’t meet a match within that time, they are then turned into an animal of their choice and released into the wild.
Farrell was nominated for Best Actor in the Irish Film and Television Awards 2016 for his role in the film.
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