Michael Fassbender is back in the headlines after playing the lead in David Fincher’s much-awaited film The Killer. With the film garnering positive reviews, Men’s Health got a hold of the Irish actor to learn how he keeps himself in shape for his roles. During the interview, Fassbender explained his diet. He also recounted the extreme physical transformation he went through for Hunger (2008).

While the Fassbender didn’t follow a restrictive diet even when he got chiseled for Zack Snyder’s 300, Hunger was a different story. The actor recounted the steps he took to transform for the 2008 film. He also dismissed any notion of putting his body through another insane 600-calorie diet for any future project. 

Michael Fassbender nearly starved himself for the role 

Unlike other leading men, the 46-year-old actor has rarely been through extreme physical transformations in recent years. However, his 2008 experience in losing weight for Hunger might come close. While Fassbender is around 6′, the actor tips the scales at a lean 163 lbs. However, for Hunger, he had to lose 35 lbs.

Michael Fassbender told Mens Health that “usually,” he doesn’t weigh less than “72 kilos,” or 163 lbs. However, for the 2008 film, the actor had to “get down to 58 kilos (127 lbs).” The 6-foot man who loves to eat hearty meals containing meat and vegetables had to settle for only 1000 calories when he started his weight loss transformation. Fassbender explained that dropping 35 lbs of body weight was a “10-week process.” Shortly after starting his 1000 calorie restrictive diet, Fassbender dropped to 64 kilos (141 lbs). However, his weight “flatlined” at around 141 lbs after four weeks of restrictive dieting. Since the actor had stopped losing weight, he “took it down to 600 calories a day.”

“So, that was just basically a tin of sardines, some berries, and a handful of nuts,” said The Killer star. While the distinguished actor was committed to playing the character convincingly, the diet was unsustainable and harmful to his health. “I wouldn’t do that to my body again,” Fassbender told Men’s Health. However, the actor is a big fan of intermittent fasting.

Fasting has helped the BAFTA award-winner

While Michael Fassbender might’ve started fasting on a whim, he discovered it benefited him. Hence, the BAFTA winner does intermittent fasting every day. While the Assasin’s Creed actor breaks his fast with a cup of coffee, he skips breakfast and has three meals throughout the day. The Irish actor also loves food and eats almost anything.

However, surprisingly, the Irishman admitted to disliking Irish stew. Besides intermittent fasting, Fassbender also hits the gym first thing in the morning. The actor said he knows he’ll have a good day if he has a good workout. What do you think of the 600-calorie diet that Fassbender followed? Let us know in the comments below.

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