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Alexander Skarsgard reveals how he celebrated end of 'Legend of Tarzan' diet

By Karen Butler
Actor Alexander Skarsgard attends a stage greeting for the film "The Legend of Tarzan" in Tokyo on June 6, 2016. Photo by Keizo Mori/UPI
Actor Alexander Skarsgard attends a stage greeting for the film "The Legend of Tarzan" in Tokyo on June 6, 2016. Photo by Keizo Mori/UPI | License Photo

LOS ANGELES, July 2 (UPI) -- Alexander Skarsgard says he stuck to a grueling eating and exercise regimen as he prepared to play the hero in The Legend of Tarzan.

"The first phase was three months of bulking up while I was wrapping up True Blood here in LA, so it was Tupperware [containers] with 7,000 calories a day -- steak and potatoes, that kind of stuff, and weight-lifting -- and then when I got to London, about a month and a half before we started the movie, I had a great opportunity to work with Wayne McGregor, who is one of the best choreographers in the world and that was one of my favorite parts of the whole experience, working with Wayne on the physicality of the character," the actor recalled during a recent press conference. "It was very important that the guy -- that Tarzan -- is flexible and agile when he moves through the jungle, so he doesn't look like a body builder. So, even though I wanted to put on some weight, the goal wasn't just to get buff, it was to look athletic."

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He also revealed how he celebrated the end of his "horrible," temporary diet, which was high in calories and protein, but included no sugar or dairy.

"So, when we wrapped the movie, my father [actor Stellan Skarsgard] was shooting River, this Netflix series in London at the time. I got in my car and went straight to his house, and my dad loves to cook, so I spent four days on his couch just being fed. It was the most incredible weekend of my life. It was just bone marrow, fried mozzarella, pasta, red wine. It was a good weekend," he noted.

The Legend of Tarzan is in theaters now.

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