Explore the fitness routines of the actors from “Burn Notice,” a thrilling TV series about Michael Weston, a former spy who finds himself ‘burned’ and cut off from his intelligence agency. The show follows Michael’s endeavors to uncover why he’s been burned while helping others with his espionage skills. Jeffrey Donovan, portraying Michael, enjoys diving for fitness. Gabrielle Anwar, as Fiona, practices yoga. Each cast member, including Bruce Campbell and Coby Bell, shares their unique approach to wellness, reflecting the diverse methods they use to maintain health amidst the physical and mental demands of acting in this action-packed series.
Jeffrey Donovan played lead character, Michael Weston, on the show. In a 2011 interview with Men’s Health, he revealed that he loves to dive to stay in shape. “Diving is a very solitary, very insular, peaceful activity. At 100 feet there are no phones, and no one’s bothering you—there’s just a bunch of fish wondering what the hell you’re doing in their backyard.”
Gabrielle Anwar played one of the main roles, Fiona Glenanne. In a 2010 interview with SELF, Anwar revealed that she practices yoga to stay in shape. “I love yoga because every muscle is being toned from the moment one spreads their toes on that mat. My goal is not to target the area that might be less toned than another, my goal is to feel that during each pose, I bring awareness into each muscle, each space around each muscle, each joint, each space around each joint, and so on and so on, so that I do not neglect a single part of my whole. I am less concerned about an area of ‘imperfection,’ because I am not a professional bodybuilder, model nor trainer. What I am is imperfect. Gleefully so.”
Bruce Campbell played one of the main characters, Sam Axe, on the show. He talked about what he thinks makes a successful film or series with Artpublika Magazine. “Everybody involved in a project, in my opinion, has to let the material rule. If it’s a comedy, then liven up your game. If it’s a serious drama, ok, tone it down a little bit; keep the intensity. And, everybody has got to be in the same movie. Actors are not allowed to be in their own little sphere; they have to acknowledge the world around them.”
Coby Bell played Jesse Porter, joining the main cast in season four. He also appeared in the 2017 FOX sci-fi series, The Gifted. Bell shared how the show incorporates social issues to Show Biz Junkies. “I guess it’s a way of talking about social issues without talking directly about them, you know? It makes it a little more palatable, a little less preachy. But at that same time, the message is getting across. It’s really cool. Starting with Star Trek, they were breaking some serious barriers but it’s in outer space so it’s fine. So, yes, I never thought about it. It’s cool.”
Tricia Helfer played Carla Baxter in season two. She has amazing skin, and makes sure to take care of it. “I like to use Proactiv cleansers when I’m working, because they seem to deep clean the skin from all the set makeup,” she told Real Style Network. “When I’m not working, I use a Kiehl’s Rare Earth cleanser and cucumber toner. For toners, serums and moisturizers, I vary it between Nars, Kiehl’s, Prai and La Mer. When I was filming in New Mexico last fall, the climate is so insanely dry that the only thing that kept my skin from falling off was La Mer. It’s so expensive but it certainly did help with that crazy climate.”
Moon Bloodgood played Michelle Paxson in season three. She is an action star known for her roles in Falling Skies and Terminator Salvation. While promoting Falling Skies, Bloodgood revealed to CineSnob that she does a lot of her own stunts. “I did a lot of my own stunts in ‘Terminator Salvation.’ With this one, it’s not as physical because I play a doctor. I’m not out in the field battling with the aliens. At times it was physical, because doing a show of this kind of magnitude is crazy. There are crazy and demanding hours.”
Chris Vance played the recurring role Mason Gilroy in season three. While promoting his show Transporter, Vance revealed the intense training he did to prepare for it. “I put in about three months of training before we start the shoot,” he told My Take On TV. “Before the first principle day of photography, I generally put in about three months of training. Just for stamina reasons; it’s not always to do with fighting. It’s a lot to do with stamina training, stretching, running and aerobic sort of training.”
Sonja Sohn played Olivia Riley in season six. She shared how she stays in shape for roles to DailyActor. “My health and wellness regimen in general is more influenced by just the way I want to feel as a human being. But also, being an actress and being in front of the camera, you do have to be conscious of that, and so it’s more tied into just understanding the nature of my job. Iimage is a big part of the job. And how you are – and how the camera captures you is important. But like I said, it’s more influenced by just my personal choice on what kind of shape I want to be in. I might want to be walking around 25 years from now, so I should be eating and exercising.”
Danny Pino played Adam Scott in the fourth season. He shared his secrets to a successful marriage to Closer Weekly. “It takes work. So even on days you don’t necessarily feel like you want to follow through with things, it’s important to make the effort, to show that you’re there and you care, to try to understand what’s going on. Just like in acting, the most important thing in a relationship for me is listening. And we love to travel together!”
Patton Oswalt had a recurring role as Calvin Schmidt in the sixth season. In an interview with Vanity Fair, Oswalt opened up about returning to comedy after the passing of his first wife. “I had this weird breakthrough onstage during a set down in Irvine last month, like, ‘Oh, this is just going to be uncomfortable. I’m going to have to make comedy out of it being uncomfortable.’ That set was the first one where I just embraced how awful it was.”
Garret Dillahunt played the villainous Simon Escher on the show. He talked about his career to Leo Edit. “I directed an episode of Raising Hope, and I enjoyed it very much. For a long time, I didn’t have any aspirations beyond that. I felt very fulfilled. I feel pretty lucky in the roles I’ve gotten to play as an actor. I know plenty of actors that can do what I do. I get flattered when people say, you can do anything, you do comedy, you do drama, you do whatever, because I feel like I know so many people that can do that and do it even better, but just weren’t given the opportunity. And I’ve been given those opportunities, and I love it and I never thought I would produce anything. But as you get older, you want to have a little more of a hand in things. If I’m not having fun, what’s the point? And so, if you think you can do better, why don’t you get your hands a little dirty? And I wish I’d done that a long time ago. Don’t wait until you think you deserve it or that you have all the knowledge, ’cause you’ll never feel that way.”