How Jeremy Allen White Got Calvin Klein Model-Jacked

Two-time Golden Globe winner Jeremy Allen White is, without a doubt, one of Hollywood’s most compelling names right now — and thanks to a serious training regime accompanied by an equally serious diet, he’s never looked more larger-than-life.

As the face of Calvin Klein’s latest underwear campaign, the Brooklyn-born thespian of both Shameless and The Bear fame’s enviable rig has been attracting all sorts of online attention. A rig, it’s worth noting, which was specifically carved for his role as real-life professional wrestler Kerry Von Erich in The Iron Claw.

Starring opposite Zac Efron, who is also currently the most muscle-bound he’s ever been as Kevin Von Erich, White was required to tack on an additional 18 kilos for the A24-produced biopic.

“I knew I had to eat more, so I ate more. I knew I had to lift heavy things, so I lifted a lot of heavy things — and I tried to stay away from cardio,” Jeremy Allen White during a recent appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live.

“I like to run, I like to jump rope in my everyday life, which makes me feel good. These guys didn’t do a lot of that stuff, so it was just kind of lifting.”

Despite the impressive physique that White was able to achieve through training and diet for The Iron Claw, he admitted it was nothing compared to his co-star in Efron.

“Zac Effon is gigantic. He could probably beat up some of the real wrestlers, right?” remarked Jimmy Kimmel himself.

“I think he could beat anybody up,” replied White.

“When he gets that big, does it kind of make you nervous?” Kimmel fired back.

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To which White responded with a laugh: “Yes. I didn’t want to stand near him during the movie, which was a problem because we play brothers and we need to stand close to one another.”

Regardless of the comparison, Jeremy Allen White’s physical changes for the film were still objectively significant, and took serious dedication on his part beyond exercise alone. In an interview with Esquire, he was asked about the diet, to which he answered rather unambiguously:

“Eating all the time. Like, never stopping. In the morning, I would have waffles, almond butter. In the middle of the day, I was eating turkey patties and avocado all the time. It’s really just gross.”

White loves a good meal as much as the next bloke, even he had a limit to what he could stomach during the bulking phase.

“You’re trying to consume as much as you possibly can and, to be honest, you don’t feel great. I was training as well but, I don’t know, trying to get that big, it’s no way to live.”

While he might not have enjoyed cramming in the calories, his shoot with Calvin Klein has definitively proven it’s been worth the grind. After all, there’s nothing quite like a CK campaign to mint your sex symbol status.