Editor's Note: On September 9th, the new Lionsgate film WARRIOR hits the theaters. In the movie, actors Joel Edgerton (Brendan Conlon) and Tom Hardy (Tommy Conlon) play two estranged brothers who take a circuitous route to mixed martial arts, only to face each other in a fight—with the opportunity to win $5 million on the line.
While the movie tracks a deep emotional, psychological, and motivational story of the two brothers, Edgerton and Hardy had their own journey in making the film look as realistic as possible: Both had to build Warrior-like bodies to fulfill their role as fighters. Before shooting, both men weighed approximately 160 pounds, but had to add 25 pounds of lean muscle in order to portray the look of middleweight contenders. With a combination of diet, training, and mental toughness, the actors transformed their bodies—and minds—for the role.
We sat down with stunt coordinator JJ Perry, who shared the details of the behind-the-scenes work and dedication it took to bring WARRIOR to life.
LIVESTRONG.COM: Tell me a little bit about the preparation for the film.
JJ Perry: Joel and Tom both came in a little more than 2 months early for pre-pre production. They had 10 weeks to transform their bodies, so we went to 8711 gym. It’s the same place where they prepped the actors for 300. We had a hard core system set up. The hardest part was to make actors believable as fighters. There’s more than just punching mitts and kicking heavy bags. They need to be able to react to getting punched. That meant doing choreography for all the fights. That could take two hours or more per day. And then after that we’d train in the weight room, and follow that with general boxing, kicking, ground work. When all was said and done, most days were about 4 hours of work.
LS.COM: How as the preparation different for Hardy and Edgerton?
JP: Each had different style to portray, so their bodies had to look different and they had to fight differently, as well. Hardy was heavy handed. And powerful. He was a bruiser. Edgerton’s role was to be more like Rocky. He was all heart and grit: The mindset of a champion and a body capable of taking more abuse. To be honest, a lot of our time was spent making sure they had different fighting styles and that the uniqueness of the characters could be seen and differentiated.
LS.COM: What was the goal of the body transformation?
JP: Just based on aesthetics, you have to look the part. So you have to know how different styles of fighting shape the bodies of fighters. An Olympic wrestler has huge traps, shoulders and biceps. And there’s a reason for that: The sport is pulling-based. It works those muscles and the back, and develops a thick, powerful body. Boxers are different. Their job is to be push-dominant. Just think about all the punches they throw.
So for the movie, that meant we had Hardy carrying kettlebells everywhere and doing heavy deadlifts. You can tell that he filled out well. On the other hand, Joel had to focus more on cardio, road work and machine work. We wanted him to be leaner, so his training approach was very different, but still resulted in a fighter’s body.
LS.COM: Both men look like they’re in incredible shape for the film. What was the approach to adding the muscle mass and still keeping them in condition?
JP: It’s funny. Both guys came in at 160 and needed to be at 185 to be middleweights. So in the beginning we had them eat like crazy to put as on as much mass as possible. We’re talking 6 meals a day. We ordered a crate full of protein powder to supplement with between meals. We just wanted to keep their calorie intake high because we had them training so many hours in the day. That’s the difference between fights and the average person. They can consume more and transform faster because of the effort—in hours and intensity—they put in at the gym and on their skill specific work. Once we got their weight up, then we started carb-depleting hard core to give them enhanced definition. Then it was a strict diet of chicken, broccoli, and protein shakes every 2 to 3 hours. Eating became part of their job.
LS.COM: What was the hardest part of the transformation process?
JP: The real hurdles, just like in real life, are staying healthy. When you put a real fighter in a real cage with an actor—which is what happened in this film—injuries will happen. We wanted this film to be as authentic as possible, so that meant bringing in the real deal. As a result, these fight scenes are as good as you’ll find.
But when a real fighter commits to throwing a kick or punch, it’s going to hurt. To prepare, we made the actors spar with stunt doubles, but only from the neck down. There’s no substitute for taking shots, so we wanted the actors to be prepared. During sparring, everything below the neck was fair game. You couldn’t hit in the face, but the body shots are tough to handle.
It was a good gut check for the guys. It gave them a taste for it and made everything more authentic. But the best part was that fighting. It taught them the mental toughness. And it’s not just taking shots. It’s about coming to work day-after-day-after-day. Getting beaten up, working hard, and still pushing forward. And especially when the guys were carb-depleting. That took the heart of a warrior, and the guys never complained.
LS.COM: How did Hardy and Edgerton respond to the challenge? We all know that feeling of hitting the wall. Any breakthrough moments?
JP: I have to give a lot of credit to Tom and Joel. They embraced the process. They were sponges that absorbed everything. And they wanted to learn. With any transformation, I think that’s the key. Are you willing to take the time to educate yourself and then apply to your own situation?
We brought a lot of real fighters in for this film. And you want to know how you can tell the fighters from the fakers? It’s not when they’re throwing a punch or kick, it’s when they’re avoiding the blows. Fighters react differently, and that comes with repetition. And I’ll tell you, Tom and Joel put themselves through that process where they took the shots so they could react like fighters.
LS.COM: With all this real fighting, were there any injuries you had to work around?
JP: First of all, know this: Tom and Joel did about 99 percent of the stunts in this film. They were great. Stepping into that role meant risking their bodies. Part of our job as stuntmen is to get bashed up. These guys knew what they were getting into, but there was no sugar coating it.
Joel had severe knee injury about three-fourths of way through and just wrapped it up, iced and finished filming without complaints. That took a lot of heart. I have a lot of respect for him. People see a film like this with a great story and the hard work and the mental and physical toughness of the actors gets overlooked. I hope people know how hard Tom and Joel pushed themselves.
LS.COM: Thank you for your time. Any final thoughts?
JP: This is a special film. Not just because of the work people put in, but because of the story and how it represents people overcoming adversity and fighting hard towards some goal. It’s something that everyone can relate to and learn from, whether you’re a fighter or not.
- Adam Bornstein
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