Shazam! star Zachary Levi shoots down rumors of him wearing fake muscles under his suit for the upcoming DC film from David F. Sandberg.
Taking on the role of Shazam meant that Levi had to go through intense training to get into superhero shape. When the Shazam suit was first glimpsed in set photos, some believed the suit contained fake muscles. Levi later responded to critics by posting a photo in April of his superhero physique on Instagram. The actor was recently on the red carpet for Amazon’s The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel Season 2, where he was asked by Variety about the fake muscle rumors:
“Does this look fake to you? Come on! Gluteus maximus! I totally understand, I get it. sure why not?”
Levi was then asked about his workout regime for the DC film and the effect of being in superhero shape has had on his life:
“I have been in the gym since I got the job. I’ve been in the gym five to six days a week, eating between 3,000 to 4,000 calories a day. I Immediately put on about 24 pounds and I’m gonna carve that down by half. So, I have been hovering at about 215 pounds and I’m in the best shape of my life and stronger, happier, and healthier than I have ever been. Honestly that’s the stuff I am most ecstatic about, which is the level of health that I’ve gotten to. Mental health, emotional health, spiritual health, physical health…I am so jazzed about that and I want to keep talking about that. Particularity mental health, that is something I feel like it all coincided with the job and me really learning about self love and I can’t stop talking about it. I just feel like we are in a place, particularity now a days, where people need to be encouraged and informed on what self love is and to go and generally embrace themselves and love themselves. I’m really happy about all that.”
Zachary Levi squashes the rumor that he was wearing fake muscles on the set of #Shazam: “Does it look fake to you? Come on!" https://t.co/et3XViikkX pic.twitter.com/98iVtH2elj
— Variety (@Variety) December 5, 2018
Directed by David F. Sandberg, Shazam! stars Zachary Levi, Asher Angel, Mark Strong, Jack Dylan Grazer, Grace Fulton, Faithe Herman, Ian Chen, Jovan Armand, Cooper Andrews, Marta Milans, and Djimon Honsou.
We all have a superhero inside us, it just takes a bit of magic to bring it out. In Billy Batson’s (Angel) case, by shouting out one word—SHAZAM!—this streetwise 14-year-old foster kid can turn into the adult Super Hero Shazam (Levi), courtesy of an ancient wizard. Still a kid at heart—inside a ripped, godlike body—Shazam revels in this adult version of himself by doing what any teen would do with superpowers: have fun with them! Can he fly? Does he have X-ray vision? Can he shoot lightning out of his hands? Can he skip his social studies test? Shazam sets out to test the limits of his abilities with the joyful recklessness of a child. But he’ll need to master these powers quickly in order to fight the deadly forces of evil controlled by Dr. Thaddeus Sivana (Strong).
Shazam! will be released in theaters on April 5, 2019.
Source: Variety
