Taking on the role of criminal Chopper Read in Underbelly Files: Chopper took a physical toll on Aaron Jeffery. But the New Zealand-born actor has finally got himself back in shape.
The actor says it was easy to shed the persona of ‘Chopper’ when the cameras stopped rolling, however the weight was harder to lose.
“The only issues I had was trying to get my body back,” he reveals.
“I put on a lot of weight,” the 47-year-old says of his Logie-nominated part.
Aaron as Chopper in Underbelly.
“I destroyed my body, so I had to start intensive Pilates to restructure it. My lower back and hips were really bad.”
A combination of healthy eating and exercise saw him shed the weight he’d stacked on.
“It was in the vicinity of 25 kilos,” Aaron says. “There was a bit of beef there.”
His kids were a driving force to get fit. Sophia and Beau, his children with partner Zoe Naylor, are six and two.
The former McLeod’s Daughters star reveals he’d love to have more, but doesn’t think he’ll be looking to expand his family.
“I could have houses of kids, but I’m nearly 50,” Aaron admits. “I don’t want to be chasing them in a Zimmer frame in 20 years.”
Aaron’ was nominated for Most Popular Actor and the show was nominated for Most Outstanding Miniseries or Telemovie at the 2018 TV WEEK Logie Awards. The actor says the show’s success comes down to the quality of the team behind it.
“We got really lucky with the ensemble that we had,” says Aaron.
“We had an amazing array of highly regarded practitioners, you know, the director, the writer, the DOP, the makeup, all the crew and the cast. We had a great team and were really blessed with the team we had.”
