Ladies, what motivates you to get into shape? To attract a guy? To maintain good health? To land a star role in an action hero movie? Most likely that last one. Let’s face it, if you are on a 12-Twinkie-a-Day diet, you aren’t going to make a very convincing character in the Marvel Universe, now are you? The actresses on this list certainly agree. Here are 10 women who whipped themselves into shape for leading movie roles.
1. Daisy Ridley – Star Wars
Daisy Ridley understands that when you are training to be a Jedi, you have to look your best while wielding a lightsaber. So how did she do it? Squats, bench presses and an intense workout is the key. And probably using Jedi-mind tricks to convince herself that broccoli is as delicious as fried chicken.
2. Scarlett Johansson – Black Widow
To get into shape as Black Widow in Iron Man and the Marvel Extended Universe movies, Scarlett Johansson got up at 5am to go running. She also pumped a lot of iron and performed tactical training exercises. She also claims she ate like a rabbit, which we assume means a lot of trips to the pet store for bags of delicious rabbit pellets.
3. Gal Gadot – Wonder Woman
Before she began preparing for her role as Wonder Woman, Gal Gadot couldn’t do a single pull-up. If you’re supposed to be playing an immortal Amazonian woman with superhuman strength, that just won’t do. After 9 months, Gadot managed to gain 17 pounds of pure muscle. She also had to learn how to ride a horse and swing a sword. Presumably at the same time.
4. Karen Gillan – Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle
Lifting weights, cardio and jumping rope were some of the ways in which Karen Gillan got herself into shape in her role as Ruby Roundhouse in the 2017 Jumanji reboot. As we all know, the key to survival in the jungle is to wear short shorts and sport a bare midriff, and in that sense Gillan didn’t disappoint!
