14 DAY TRIAL // Not long ago, Angelina Jolie was saying that, when she was approached to do the part of a Bond girl, she refused because she wanted to play James Bond himself. A couple of years later, she had the chance to do just that, as she was offered the part of the spy Evelyn Salt in “Salt.” Initially written for Tom Cruise, the part was very physically challenging, which means Jolie had to go the extra mile training for it, her trainer tells People.
Luckily, Angelina simply loves doing action movies, as she repeatedly said in interviews. In fact, she did most of the stunts in the film, after training seriously and taking all necessary cautions. To become the character, Salt, a spy for the CIA who may also working for the Russians who has to clear her name and even save the world from total annihilation, the star also had to undergo a strict diet and lots of training meant to help her build more muscle mass.
“Angelina Jolie had to be in tip-top shape for her role as a CIA agent on the run in the new action thriller Salt, opening today. So what did the stunning A-lister do to prepare for the demanding part? She ate about five small meals a day and stuck to a diet of 70% carbs and 30% protein – and actually avoided cardio – to help ‘put muscle on without losing weight,’ says trainer Simon Crane, who worked with the actress to get in top form for the film. On the hit list: No junk food, and alcohol only on weekends. And the most surprising thing about Angelina’s Salt diet? Carbs weren’t a mortal enemy,” People writes after talking to the actress’ trainer for the film.
“To build muscle and stamina for her role as CIA officer Evelyn Salt, Jolie was disciplined with her training regimen. ‘She knew that she was going to suffer!’ says Crane, who started the actress with two-hour training sessions, five days a week. Both strength and fight training helped prepare the star for stunts involving safety cables and wire rigs. Once shooting began, they took training down a notch by squeezing in four weekly sessions over lunch breaks and weekends, and altered her diet to 60% carbs and 40% protein. And forget about any fear of heights: ‘She loves doing action,’ says Crane,” the publication further writes.
This comes to infirm rumors circulating earlier this year, when the first shots from the set of the film were released officially. Jolie seemed thinner in them, which sparked some speculation in the tabloids that she’d put herself on the liquid diet because she wanted to be at her best for the part, as we also reported at the time. This meant drinking only a concoction of water, lemon juice, cayenne pepper and maple syrup – no solids whatsoever.
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