Orlando Bloom opens up about dramatic 60lb weight loss for ‘feeling of starvation’ in new role
Orlando Bloom has spoken about the gruelling weight loss regimen he underwent for his role in The Cut, which saw him lose 60lbs.
He might be known as the wistful Legolas in Lord of the Rings and the swashbuckling Will Turner in Pirates of the Caribbean, but Orlando Bloom has since taken on a darker role in latest movie The Cut.
Many actors undertake extreme diets to get a certain look for shooting a film, whether it's bulking up like Chris Hemsworth in Thor or Christian Bale's shocking transformation for The Machinist.
Now, Bloom has recounted the brutal methods he used to make his body fit the role in the movie, which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in September last year, and was released in cinemas on 5 September 2025.
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Bloom also clearly warned people 'do not do [this] at home'.
The film follows the story of a boxer who undergoes a transformation to get back in the game after suffering a crushing defeat, but as he pushes himself further, the obsession and the training start to take their toll.
During shooting, the British actor went on a strict diet to lose weight, living off tuna and cucumber in a process that left him physically and emotionally drained.
"We are built for sleep, food and water," Bloom told Yahoo.
"When you take all three of those away - because you don't really sleep when you're that hungry [...] Your body just lets go after that process. That's how I got that very dry and not-pretty look."
Bloom remembered a 'feeling of vulnerability - and the 'feeling of starvation' that took place over three days.
“I hadn’t really drunk water because I was trying to get this really crazy dehydrated [look]," he recalled.
"I was really restricting the water, and all of that made it just way harder than I had imagined."
Despite working with nutritionist Philip Goglia on what was an already immensely difficult diet, Bloom said that he ended up getting stuck at 162lbs.
But the nutritionist came out with a shocking method to help Bloom get to his target weight.
“[Goglia] was in lockstep with production to make sure we timed everything out,” he said.
“I couldn't get past 162 pounds; I was stuck at this weight. I photographed my scale every morning and sent it to him. Then just before filming, he said, ‘I want you to get in a hot bath.’”
Goglia told Bloom to fill a bath with water and 25lbs of Epsom salt, then soak in it and drink two litres of water before he went to bed. Bloom called the process 'crazy', saying that he 'dropped 10 pounds overnight'.
“I didn’t feel very good — angry and hungry,” he said, with the physical deprivation leading him to grow paranoid as he struggled to quieten his mind.
“The feelings, the emotions, the intrusive thoughts in the mind, the physical exhaustion, the physicality - it all kind of came to fruition,” Bloom said.
And what makes things even harder is that, as soon as the star had trimmed down so drastically, he had to pile it all back on again once the scenes where he was at his lowest weight had been shot.
“I was just gorging food,” he said.
“I had protein powder with ice cream. I had desserts.”
Bloom said his body didn't thank him for the stark transition, admitting he was suddenly 'getting weird rashes'.
"t was just a lot,” he added.
“Everything that happens [with extreme weight loss] — it’s not something that I would recommend to anyone.”
Words by Kit Roberts
Topics: Celebrity, UK Food, US Food, Diet, Social Media
The FOODbible Team