Movies

Cavill and Jackman Reveal Terrifying Truth Behind Perfect Shirtless Scenes in Superhero Movies

Cavill and Jackman Reveal Terrifying Truth Behind Perfect Shirtless Scenes in Superhero Movies
Image credit: Legion-Media

Have you ever looked at those sick shots of Superman's or Wolverine's amazing abs and suddenly feel jealous? Well, we're about to save you from this feeling for good.

Superhero actors are supposed to look perfect, and they put a lot of effort into living up to these expectations.

Personal coaches, strict diets, insane workout routines, and the best gym equipment in the world — all that just for you to admire their peak physical form on the big screen. This is part of their job, and it's far from simple.

But as many people who tried to mimic their favorite movie stars' appearance have come to realize, a common human like you and us can't really look just as good as superhero actors do.

While some blame secret workout techniques that aren't available to the public and others blame CGI, the truth is way more terrifying.

Both Henry Cavill and Hugh Jackman look insane in their respective movies: the actors' physical form is immaculate, and they seem to only consist of pure muscles.

Whenever there's a shirtless scene with them, you can't help but ask yourself, "How did they take it so far?.." However, you may not be ready to learn the answer.

The Superman and Wolverine actors revealed the secret behind their shirtless shots in two separate interviews, and instead of CGI, it involves literal torture and suffering.

The secret ingredient for the perfect shirtless scene is… Severe dehydration.

"I find out the date which is the shirt-off thing, and it's about a three-month run-up, so you've got to be in pretty good shape. But the three months before is very specific, and it finished with dehydration… Don't do that at home," Hugh Jackman says.

Superman doesn't make it any easier.

"When you're dehydrating for three days, you get to the point on the last day where you can smell water nearby. It's not no water for three days: on the first day, you'll have a liter and a half; on the second day, half a liter; and then on the third day — no water. And you'll shoot the fourth," Henry Cavill explains.

"Sometimes, they don't shoot the scene till the end of the fourth day as well… So you're the most miserable person on the planet," adds the actor.

After the shocked interviewer asked Hugh Jackman whether he knew that a human can literally only survive for three days without water, the Wolverine star nodded and confirmed it.

According to him, that's the entire point of this torture: to go as close as possible to the edge of death from dehydration before rolling the scene.

The reason they are forced to go through this terrifying experience is that such dehydration makes the skin really thin so it sits tight on the muscles, explained Henry Cavill. This ensures no body fat and even skin thickness get in the way.

The next time you see a shirtless scene with a ripped hero, remind yourself of the horrors the actors have to go through for these shots, putting themselves on the edge of death from dehydration…

And the jealousy we all typically have when seeing those perfect bodies is bound to go away, we can almost guarantee.

Source: The Graham Norton Show