What Fans Didn't Know: Bill Skarsgård's Surprisingly 'Tricky' Struggle to Get in Shape for The Crow Revealed

Bill Skarsgård had to change his exercise and diet to play the lead role in The Crow. Thankfully, he succeeded because of one major thing and also some help. Read on to know more!

Published on Aug 27, 2024  |  09:40 AM IST |  67.2K
The Clark Kent And Superman Dilemma For Bill Skarsgård’s Physique In The Crow
Bill Skarsgård in The Crow (PC: YouTube/ Lionsgate Movies)

Bill Skarsgård is widely appreciated for his talent as a character actor. For his role in The Crow, he followed a strict exercise and diet regimen to achieve the ideal physique for the character of Eric. In an interview with Variety, the actor discussed the physical transformation he underwent and explained the process of becoming Eric.


Speaking about how he prepped up for his character for the highly anticipated film the actor explained, “I’d already been training for quite a while. Me and my trainer kept adding a little bit of weight onto what I’d already be, but I didn’t want to be too big either.”

The 34-year-old actor revealed that the transformation was tricky because the goal was to make The Crow ripped but not the character of Eric. It feels like a Clark Kent and Superman dilemma!

The actor further explained, “I didn’t feel like the character should be thin, but you can’t afford to split it into six months, the ‘Raging Bull’ kind of way. So we did a lot of weight training and ate a lot of protein.”

Director Rupert Sanders also weighed in on Skarsgård’s body transformation. He joked, “He ate very healthily and put us all to shame when we were eating burgers and hot dogs and working late at night in the Czech summer.”

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The director even helped Bill gain the ideal physique by taking him to dinner. Sanders would always order what Bill was generally eating at that time. So what was it? Sanders recalled, “It’s basically steak tartare and raw eggs. He was in the gym a lot.”

Bill Skarsgård revealed that despite his intense diet, he wasn’t too bothered by it. He said, “I really loved what I was eating, so I didn’t feel like I had to cheat. I didn’t eat sugar, but I’m not a big sweet guy.”

Also, he celebrated the end of filming by drinking beer. 

In another interview with Variety, Rupert Sanders discussed the themes he explored in his version of the film. The director explained, “What attracted me to this project was the chance to create a dark romance.”

Rupert expanded on his thoughts and expressed his interest in creating something that delved into grief and loss, and depicted the "ethereal veil between life and death and reaching through that."

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The Crow by James O'Barr is a graphic novel series published in 1989. It follows a man named Eric who is murdered with his fiancée and then resurrected to take revenge on those who did this to them. 

In 1994, the original film was directed by Alex Proyas and starred the late Brandon Lee, who was the son of Bruce Lee. Brandon Lee tragically passed away at the age of 28 due to an accident on the set of the film. He was shot by a prop gun while filming. Despite this tragedy, the film was completed and distributed by Miramax. The director of the reboot, Sanders, mentioned that they kept this tragedy in mind while making their version of the film.

Regarding Bill Skarsgård's role in the reboot, the director stated, "I think Bill feels like he is a successor to that."

ALSO READ: ‘I Like To Be Consumed By It’: Bill Skarsgard Opens Up On Playing Dark Roles And His ‘State Of Mind’ While Filming The Crow

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