James McAvoy Interview: How Actor Bulked Up For Speak No Evil

James McAvoy hit peak condition for his role as a threatening dad in hit thriller Speak No Evil, which is now available to buy or rent at home. The actor walked us through exactly how he achieved the physique.

In an interview with Men’s Journal, McAvoy detailed not only his rigorous gym workouts, but also the changes he made to his diet, both of which were incredibly strict in order to pile on the muscle.

“Regime-wise,” says McAvoy, “what I had been doing was doing a lot of Olympic lifting. I was doing lots of deadlifts and bench press and squats and filling it out with free weights and all that in between and eating a lot. Eating four or five meals a day, tons of protein, tons of carbs to fuel the growth.”

McAvoy’s increased bulk was actually a happy accident. The actor wasn’t specifically training for this film. He was into weights at the time, and simply carried the results of his fitter lifestyle across. It meant the actor was, as he himself says, the muscliest he’s ever been.

“Strangely enough, I didn't get into that shape for this film. I just spent a couple of years just concentrating on heavy weights. The script came around at the time that I was sort of built like that. I am no longer built like that. I haven't been to the gym since I think February and I've lost a lot of muscle, but I was just the muscliest I've ever been.”

Another interesting detail about McAvoy’s transformation is how he subtly tweaked it throughout the film. He starts off with a bit more fat to appear less threatening, and by the end shreds it to boost his vascularity, even hitting the weights moments before a take to ensure his neck muscles look pumped. The result is a convincing portrayal of an absolute psycho.

“I tried to make sure that I was a little softer,” he says, “ and I tried to keep that for the beginning of the film because I wanted it to look a little bit softer. But by the end of the movie I sort of planned it that by the end of the movie I would be leaner and more defined so that when I need to be a bit more threatening and stuff, the muscle shows a bit more.”

Speak No Evil is now available to buy or rent at home.