Sumith Prasad
Apple TV+’s crime series ‘Black Bird’ depicts the true story of James “Jimmy” Keene, a drug dealer who gets sentenced to ten years in prison for drug trafficking. Jimmy gets an opportunity to get released from prison if he manages to elicit suspected serial killer Larry DeWayne Hall’s confession to killing Tricia Reitler, along with the location of her supposed dead body. Golden Globe Award-winning actor Taron Egerton, who portrays Elton John in ‘Rocketman,’ plays Jimmy. Since the actor had drastically transformed his physique to play the character, the viewers may want to know whether he had gained weight and built muscles for the role. Let us share the answer!
Did Taron Egerton Gain Weight to Play Jimmy Keene?
Yes, Taron Egerton did gain weight and build muscles for portraying James “Jimmy” Keene in ‘Black Bird.’ “Lots of weight-lifting, an hour on the bike every day, […] just depleting your calories and having enough time to get to the place you wanna get to. It was good though, I have never done it to that extent before but it was good,” Egerton told The Project about his weight-gaining and muscle-building experience to play Jimmy in the crime drama. Even though Egerton had not revealed how much weight he had gained, it is apparent that the actor did gain around 20-25 pounds for the role.
“This is a challenge of discipline and the physical element as in the weight lifting and all of that stuff, it kind of becomes quite addictive. You start to increase your strength and you see the results which always feels very nice,” Egerton added. For the actor, gaining weight and building muscles were integral and essential parts of his transformation into Jimmy.
“It says in the first scene, it said it in the character description, […] that he [Jimmy] was in an extraordinary shape. So, I tried to rise to the challenge,” Egerton further added to The Project about the need for his transformation for the perfection of his portrayal of Jimmy. Since the drug dealer is a macho man and alpha male, who celebrates his masculinity around women, Egerton’s transformed physique plays a part in establishing the character.
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Portraying Jimmy gave Egerton an opportunity to challenge himself as an actor after playing Elton John in ‘Rocketman.’ “I wanted to do something that felt really different from ‘Rocketman,’” Egerton said to New York Times. “People tend to think of you as the last thing you did. They don’t want to take that risk on giving an actor a role that they’ve not seen them do a version of before,” he added. The differences between Egerton’s versions of Elton and Jimmy also include his commendable physical transformation.
This is not the first time Egerton had surprised his fans with his physical transformation. The actor had completed rigid training schedules to enhance his body for portraying Gary “Eggsy” Unwin in ‘Kingsman: The Golden Circle.’ The hard work the actor puts in for each of his roles shows his determination and resilience. Since the search for the next “Wolverine” had supposedly started, fans of Egerton are hoping that the actor would be a right fit for the legendary character with his physique.
Read More: Did Paul Walter Hauser Lose Weight for Black Bird?
