NEW AVENGERS Star Lewis Pullman for MEN’S HEALTH’s Latest ‘MH Flex’ Feature

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Lewis Pullman is becoming more powerful. In THUNDERBOLTS*, he plays an omnipotent superhero who takes on a familiar villain: mental illness. For the latest MH FLEX feature, the 32-year-old actor opens up to Men’s Health about landing the role, the intense training he endured ahead of filming, playing a superhero whose story revolves around mental health, and what comes next. Plus, in an episode of the Men’s Health “Eat Like” video series, the Marvel actor breaks down the diet he followed to get shredded to play Bob in THUNDERBOLTS*, shares why he likes to cook with his mom, and the wide variety of fresh fruits his dad grew in their backyard. Family’s obsession with fruit, including his dad’s exclusive homemade sapote sorbet.

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On working out extensively in the months leading up to filming, knowing he was going to have to look ripped even though he wasn’t sure how much of him anyone was actually going to see: “I had to be prepared for whatever felt plausible for when people are shooting you with automatic machine guns. It was the most extreme transformation I’ve ever done, and you don’t even see that much of it on camera….After that scene was done, I had one of those ice cream Snickers. Maybe three of them. And then I had a milkshake. And a burger, and ice cream, and French fries. Just going all in. It was a serious Last Supper moment.”

On learning both parts of the fight choreography for the movie’s climactic scene where Void is fighting Bob: “Thank you for asking that! Nobody’s asked me about that, and it was one of the most difficult sequences to do! You know, as I mentioned, I just started boxing, and it’s sort of a boxing match in some ways. I had to do both sides, but luckily I was with Alec, my double, and so he would play my other self when I was playing whichever was going to be seen on camera. It’s very difficult to remember that choreography because it’s a long fight. For each setup, you have to switch back and forth for the whole fight. So you do the whole fight dozens and dozens and dozens of times. You’re oscillating back and forth, you’re strobe-lighting between which part you’re doing. So it’s really hard to remember in a split second whether you’re supposed to be the one punching or the one being punched. Luckily, Alec is very good at reflexively moving on his feet, so we were able to think on our toes. It was almost more mentally exhausting than it was physically exhausting.

On what his real-life relationship with castmate Florence Pugh is like: “So much of it comes down to Florence just being an outlier of a person and an artist. She is so full of joy and humor, and she experiences life in such a rich way. She doesn’t let any moment pass without being very conscious and deliberate about it. I grew very close to her, and very fond of her, because she also took me under her wing. I think it was very much reminiscent of when she first joined the Marvel Universe and how intimidating it was. I felt instantly like I was in good hands. I trusted her. And so I owe it all to her. You know, anything that feels like it was real on camera was the result of Florence being so gracious, and human, and embracing.

On working with Julia Louis-Dreyfus in the film: “She’s a legend, and a queen, and a GOAT. I was constantly trying not to break. I mean, it’s like being thrown into a hockey rink and you’ve never held a stick, but you’re expected to just play with a pro. She’s so dexterous, and she’s so thoughtful. Of the entire cast, she’s been the one who has spent hundreds of thousands of hours in front of camera, and she’s so comfortable. She really knows how to maximize her time with every take and every scene. And she has such a dry confidence in this, which is just inherently hilarious.”

On picking projects that strike a mix of big-budget movies and smaller indie films, similar to how his father—Bill Pullman—did in his own: “It’s definitely something I’ve wanted to do, and I really love the process of indie filmmaking—it’s sort of where my heart lies. There are so many things that make the process far more difficult. Obviously, there’s a lack of resources and time that you don’t struggle with on a movie like Thunderbolts*. But there’s also an urgency to it; there’s this fiery flame you’re trying to catch because you know you’ve only got three takes per setup. So there isn’t this disposable ideology around time. And there’s something very exciting and very theater-like in that way of working, which I love. It’s also a great opportunity for a lot of new voices and perspectives to be heard and seen. There are a lot of really great brains out there that just need a platform—and the indie world is where they can sharpen their teeth.”

[Photo Credit: Jai Lennard for Men’s Health Magazine]

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