Zac Efron said that preparing for his role and starring in Baywatch took such a huge toll on his mind and body that he experienced depression.
In an interview with Men’s Health the 34-year-old actor said, “That Baywatch look, I don’t know if that’s really attainable. There’s just too little water in the skin. Like, it’s fake, it looks CGI’d. And that requires Lasix, powerful diuretics to achieve. So I don’t need to do that. I much prefer to have an extra, you know, 2 to 3 percent of body fat.”
He said the repercussions of attaining such a physique were tremendous.
“I started to develop insomnia and I fell into a pretty bad depression for a long time. Something about that experience burned me out. I had a really hard time recentering. Ultimately they chalked it up to taking too many diuretics for way too long, and it messed something up.”
These diuretics have been used in the movie industry to achieve that perfect body for a long time and are commonly known as water pills.
Efron said it took him six months to feel normal again. He now incorporates foam-rolling and ice baths into his workout routine to help alleviate sore and tired muscles. When asked about the freezing cold bath, his response was, “It’s my favourite part of the day. Before is when it’s most miserable and when you finally just commit and jump in there. From that point forward, you’ve conquered something deep within you, you do not want to get cold. That’s the simplest philosophy. Anything you don’t want to do, make it a habit.”
His 2017 Baywatch co-stars also included Dwayne Johnson, Alexandra Daddario, Priyanka Chopra Jonas and Kelly Rohrbach. The film didn’t do well as well as expected despite its star lineup.
Efron is scheduled to appear next in the The Greatest Beer Run Ever. The film is a true story about Chickie Donohue who left New York in 1967 to bring beer to his childhood buddies in the Army while fighting in Vietnam. The film also stars Russell Crowe, Bill Murray, Kyle Allen, Jake Picking, Will Ropp and Archie Renault. It will premiere in the cinema and on Apple TV on Sep 30.
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