Remember when Kumail Nanjiani showed off his ripped superhero bod that he’s been working on for The Eternals? Of course you do, no one can forget an image as powerful as Kumail Nanjiani looking jacked as all hell.
While Kumail’s not been shy about revealing how unrealistic it is for the average person to get a ripped superhero bod like Eternals rig without the resources of a big Hollywood studio, it turns out that getting jacked came at a price that went beyond insane workouts and cutting carbs for a year.
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Appearing on the cover of Men’s Health Magazine to talk all about what went into his jacked Eternals bod, as well as reenacting some of his favourite action scenes while not wearing a shirt, Kumail said that while he he doesn’t have any body image issues, he did get a bit of body dysmorphia despite all the work he was putting in to look ripped.
“I don’t want to discount people who genuinely have debilitating body issues I don’t have that. But I did start getting some body dysmorphia. I’d look in the mirror and I’d see my abs—and when I looked again, they would fade. I would just see the flaws.
Having said that, Kumail said that sharing photos of his ripped bod to Instagram and seeing everyone suddenly go “ooof, I wanna have sex with Kumail Nanjiani and his jacked rig” made him feel better about it.
“When I saw that reaction was when I was like, ‘Okay, I clearly don’t see what’s actually there.’ It’s something that I’m trying to be aware of and be better at, because that’s not a good way to be. You want to be easy on yourself.”
It’s all too sadly relatable to be uncomfortable in your own skin. Even when you’re someone like Kumail Nanjiani and you’ve got a bod worthy to be part of the Eternals, having been previously looked at as someone “nerdy” only to now be seen as a thirst trap is a wild shift in perceptions and it’s perhaps no surprise that he would feel this a little self-critical.
That being said, it appears Kumail has kept a grounded look on his superhero rig as he says his muscles are just “decorative” and nothing else. They may be decorative but they’re proving to be the cherry on top of the Eternals cake that’s scheduled to drop in November 2020.
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