Colin Farrell had a secret weapon for the weight gain he needed to play a lonely single man in the upcoming move The Lobster — melted ice cream for breakfast.
The Irish actor said he took his weight gain seriously, implementing a strict regimen of calorie stuffing to help bulk up for the role.
“I would put [the ice cream] in the microwave to melt and drink it,” he told The Hollywood Reporter , adding, “Two cheeseburgers, fries and Coca-Colas, and two slices of chocolate cake at 10 a.m. is not that fun — and I love cheeseburgers.”
With the diet of melted ice cream and cheesburgers, it took Colin Farrell a little less than two months to hit his weight gain goal of more than 4o pounds. Farrell said it was an altogether difficult experience.
“It makes you aware of how you’ve identified being a certain way.”
His Lobster co-star John C. Reilly described Farrell’s physique as a “dad bod,” which wouldn’t be too far off for Colin Farrell. The actor recently said he gave up dating so he could focus on being a good dad to his two sons, 11-year-old James and 5-year-old Henry.
Farrell said the last few years have been devoted to the boys.
“I have not dated for, ooh, four years now,” he told the Sunday Times . “It’s just not happening, what with the work, the kids and my life. I know it’s not what people expect to hear, but that’s the honest truth.”
That marks quite a turnaround for an actor once considered one of Hollywood’s biggest playboys. Farrell was known for dating around, with relationships that included Britney Spears and Angelina Jolie.
In fact, as the New York Post explained, Colin’s relationship with Jolie may have helped create one of Hollywood’s biggest power couples.
“The two starred — as mother and son, no less — in the 2004 Oliver Stone movie “Alexander,” which filmed in Morocco. Rumors (“whispers around Tinseltown,” said Perez Hilton) held that Jolie was obsessed with the hell-raising Farrell and shacked up with him during shooting. And that she only settled for Brad Pitt when Farrell wasn’t interested in a relationship.”
For Colin Farrell, the weight gain he took on for The Lobster was still shocking. The actor said he gasped when he saw himself shirtless onscreen at the movie’s May 15 premiere, saying, “I’d forgotten what it looked like.”
[Image via Getty Images/ Kevin Winter ]
