On the big screen, anything can happen: Angelina Jolie, with her megawatt pout, can play a wicked witch, Gal Gadot can fly an invisible plane and Emma Watson can enroll in the Wizarding World and date the Beast. These stars of fantasy movies keep the stories grounded with their convincing acting among the green screens, and we thank them for it. But how do they stay so big-screen fit? Here we’ve collected the advice of those stars and more.
Angelina Jolie’s roles include the title character in the Maleficent films, the title character in Lara Croft, and Thena in Eternals. Jolie works with trainer, Simon Crane, to help her stay in shape. Crane shared the actress’ diet and workout secrets with Us Weekly. “She has to have 70% carbohydrates and 30% protein diet with an anaerobic training regime as opposed to aerobic, so she can put muscle on without losing weight. Sticking to four or five meals a day routine as much as possible.”
Cate Blanchett appeared in The Lord of The Rings film series. She also appeared in Thor: Ragnarok. She shared how she got in shape for the film with Coveteur. “It was a hardcore cardio and weights circuit, but it only lasted 20 minutes because he had to fit it in between scenes. But it was great, I actually wanted to get up at six in the morning and work with him for 20 minutes before the kids woke up, if you can believe it. It sounds bizarre. I’m not doing that at the moment, but I really do want to get back to it.”
Emma Watson has played Belle in the live-action Beauty & The Beast and Hermoine Granger in the Harry Potter films. She shared some of her skincare secrets with Into The Gloss. Watson revealed that she uses multiple moisturizers. “I switch up my moisturizers depending on what issue I’m trying to address. I use the MV Organics Rose Plus Booster a lot and also their Rose Soothing and Protective Moisturiser. If my skin is feeling a bit sun-damaged or congested, I like their 9 Oil Cleansing Tonic, but I’ve never been big on masks!”
Charlize Theron played the Evil Queen in the Snow White & The Huntsman film series. She shared some of her fitness secrets with Red Magazine. Theron likes to go to spin classes. “Maybe in the past five years, I picked up Spinning and that’s how I like to get my cardio now. I used to run, but I like Spinning a lot more. I probably do yoga three times a week and Spinning three times a week, but it has to be flexible.”
Gal Gadot shared how she got in shape for the Wonder Woman films with Good Housekeeping. “When I worked out for Wonder Woman it was much more intensive and broad. For six months, we prepped for the movie where I [would] wake up every morning, drink Smartwater, go to the gym, and workout…I did a lot of strength training, cardio, stunt choreography, and flexibility work.”
Keira Knightley starred in the Pirates of The Caribbean film series. She tells Vogue that she likes to keep her skin natural. “When I am at work I put my skin through a lot, so it makes me want to not do anything when left to my own devices,” she explained. “Maybe about three times a year I might get a facial, but otherwise it’s literally as little as possible. I had really bad skin until I was 24 and up until then I did everything under the sun to it. Then one day I thought I would try to leave it and that’s what suited it better. That’s also why I always want to wear as little make-up as possible when I am not working. When I’m filming, I always have a breakout as we have to cake the make-up on. I think it needs a break every now and again to be able to breathe.”
Natalie Portman has appeared in Your Highness and the Thor movies. She is a vegan, and shared some of her favorite vegan foods with Us Weekly. “There’s like tempeh bacon, you know, coconut milk, yogurt, cheese is made out of cashews and all sorts of delicious things that they’ve figured out that are great replacements for those things you crave.”
Emily Blunt has appeared in Into The Woods and Edge Of Tomorrow. She shared one of her wellness secrets with Glamour. “I would say if you feel yourself coming down with a cold, which I’m like the worst person to nominate this because I sound horrible today – tail end of laryngitis. But… oil of oregano. You sort of just throw a few drops down there. It’s disgusting, you burn your throat but I do tend to find it shortens the cold.”
Anna Kendrick also appeared in Into The Woods. She shared her approach to fitness in an interview with Shape Magazine. “For a long time, working out meant that the only goal was to change the shape of your body. But now it’s about the strength and flexibility aspects, rather than appearance. I definitely had to shift my thinking about it, from doing something to punish myself to doing something to make my quality of life better.”
Penelope Cruz appeared in Pirates of The Caribbean: On Stranger Tides. She shared some of her fitness secrets in an interview with InStyle. “I do Bikram yoga, which has completely changed my body. You’re drenched in sweat throughout the entire class. It’s 90 minutes, but once you conquer 60, the last 30 gets easier.”
Zoe Saldana has appeared in film franchises like Pirates of The Caribbean, Guardians of The Galaxy, and Avatar. Saldana shared with Shape that she believes in eating a balanced diet. “I don’t believe in cheat days because I don’t believe in diets,” she explains. “I try not to deprive my body of anything, because the moment I have just salads and protein for a few days, I crave carbs. But when I eat everything in balance, I think less about food and more about everything else. It’s about eating to live, not living to eat.”
Lily James played Cinderella in Disney’s 2015 live-action movie. She also played Pamela Anderson in Hulu’s Pam & Tommy. James worked with trainer, Matt Bevan, to get in shape for the role. “He would make me do all my work and reading my script on a running machine,” she told Entertainment Weekly. “And I did boxing with a really cool guy in LA, which I loved too, being physically strong like I could literally beat someone up.”
Lily Collins appeared in Mirror Mirror. She makes sure to eat a healthy diet. “I’m a clean eater,” she tells Shape. “I love chicken, fish, and vegetables and grains like quinoa, but I don’t eat red meat. I steer clear of processed foods. I’m very farm-to-table; growing up in the English countryside, it was a way of life, not a trend.”
Julia Roberts also appeared in Mirror Mirror. She is considered one of Hollywood’s most gorgeous women. Roberts shared her beauty secrets in an interview. “Good genes, leading a life that is fulfilling, and I have said this—and I say it usually as kind of a joke—but I do believe in the love of a good man. I believe that my husband loves me and cares for me in a way that makes me feel deeply, deeply happy. And anytime you see someone who’s happy, it doesn’t matter how old they are.”
One of Michelle Pfieffer’s notable roles was in Stardust. She shared her diet secrets in an interview with Urbanette. “I love the vegan diet because I love carbs. Eating this kind of food is much healthier, and you avoid a lot of toxins that could age your skin and body. I noticed a difference in my skin not long after I became a vegan.”
Kate Winslet appeared in the film A Kid In King Arthur’s Closet. She shared her approach o wellness with British Vogue. “Honestly, I have learned that health comes before reaching for a mirror or a bottle of product. And if anything, I do look in the mirror less and less as I get older. In my twenties I probably thought about my appearance more than I do now, for the simple reason that as I get older I have more important things that concern me than how I look.”
Nicole Kidman appeared in The Golden Compass. She shared the secrets behind her amazing skin in an interview with Vogue. “My skincare routine [starts with] the night repair which is the regenerating cream which has the retinol in it that Neutrogena does that is really good for me, because it doesn’t make my skin dry and I have really dry skin, so that always been a big thing.”
One of Anne Hathaway’s roles was in Alice In Wonderland. In an interview on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, she shared how she got in shape for WeCrashed. “I don’t really go as immersive as I did before I had kids. But I did get very into yoga, and I actually really want to thank my teacher who worked with me every single day getting ready to play Rebekah. Rebekah is a very passionate vegan. I was a raw vegan.”
One of Jessica Chastain’s films is Snow White & The Huntsman. She shared some of her skincare secrets with Harper’s Bazaar. “Skincare is very important to me, because I actually, for the most part, don’t wear foundation. I’m vegan, and I like cruelty-free products, which is why I also like True Botanicals.”
Alicia Vikander appeared in Seventh Son. She also appeared in the 2017 version of Tomb Raider. Vikander’s trainer, Magnus Lygdback, shared how she got in shape for the film to SELF. “Seven months before filming, I started Alicia on a nutrition plan for her to gain muscle and to boost her metabolism,” he said.