Elsa Pataky has always had an unreal figure and can even give ultra-buff husband Chris Hemsworth a run for his money in the abs department.
But the 45-year-old took her fitness to new heights to star in Netflix’s Interceptor as Captain JJ Collins, a tough-as-nails US Army captain with the body to match.
Speaking with Now To Love exclusively about her intense training for the role, Elsa reveals she “absolutely” overhauled her fitness regime to get the right look for JJ.
Elsa Pataky bulked up for her role in action film Interceptor and gave husband Chris Hemsworth a run for his money.
(Image: Instagram)“I wanted to have the same physique as strong women that I’ve seen, these US army girls they really prepare,” she says.
“They’ve been through this amazing military training, so I just wanted to portray kind of that attitude and that body and physicality.”
Normally a fan of meditation, yoga and Pilates, Elsa swapped her usual routine for hardcore resistance workouts and weight training to transform her figure.
She started training four months before filming began and by the time the movie had wrapped, she was lifting almost twice her bodyweight in the gym.
“It’s like military training, trying to just be as realistic as we could to create that same movement and body as those soldiers,” she says of getting into shape for Interceptor.
“It was really challenging, but at the same time, I really enjoy it because you can see your body changing.”
Her training sessions focused on “weights, creating muscle and having a strict diet of protein and carbohydrates constantly” and bulking up her arms and shoulders.
But Elsa wasn’t working alone; she had husband Chris, who was an executive producer on the film, to help with her transformation.
WATCH: Elsa Pataky works out with husband Chris Hemsworth. Story continues after video.
The Marvel actor was filming the third Thor movie at the same time and gave her plenty of tips on how to bulk up, from new workouts to nutrition advice.
Elsa and Chris would even take turns working out and looking after their three kids, daughter India and twin sons Sasha and Tristan.
All the hard work paid off, as viewers will see from Elsa’s unreal physique in the film, the actress laughing: “You see a lot [of] her arms in the movie, which was great. I even see it sometimes and go, ‘Oh wow. That’s good, they’re big!’.”
But there was one thing Elsa didn’t want to change for the role; her accent.
Elsa transformed her physique for the role, piling on muscle to play a US Army Captain.
(Image: Netflix)Though her character is a US Army captain, director and writer Matthew Riley gave JJ a Spanish background to allow Elsa to use her natural accent.
Despite having lived and worked around the world and now calling Australia home, the 45-year-old has managed to hold on to her native Spanish lilt.
“It’s very difficult to totally take off your accent,” she laughs, adding that it’s even harder to drop it when speaking English, which is her second language.
“Spanish being our first language, we always have an accent that is very difficult [to hide].”
“I’ve started having that little way of talking that Australians have.”
(Image: Instagram)But after almost 12 years with Aussie husband Chris and six spent living in Byron Bay, Elsa admits she’s picked up some local slang.
“I can’t even believe it, I’ve started having that little way of talking that Australians have,” she laughs.
“[I] speak in English with an Australian accent sometimes or use Australian words… we are like little sponges in that wherever you leave, you start picking up all those things.”
Interceptor is available to stream on Netflix from June 3. Sign up for a free trial here.
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