LORDS OF DOGTOWN - HIRSCH LOST 41 POUNDS FOR PENN'S WILDERNESS FILM

HIRSCH LOST 41 POUNDS FOR PENN'S WILDERNESS FILM

LORDS OF DOGTOWN star EMILE HIRSCH lost 41 pounds (18.5 kilograms) while making wilderness film IN THE WILD with SEAN PENN - because the director insisted on the actor staying fit. In the film Hirsch plays real-life adventurer Chris MCCandless, a top student who gave everything away to charity and hiked across Alaska, and Penn wanted his actor to get a taste of his character's struggles on the journey. Hirsch says, "I went from 156 pounds when I got the part to 115 pounds, my lowest weight. I lost 41 pounds. "I was perhaps a little bit overweight when I got the part, so I had to get into shape, and I kind of made it a lot harder on myself, being heavier than Sean wanted me to be. "But I had a willingness to punish myself by working out... I'd do a full day of kayaking and hiking and then I'd be jumping on the treadmill for an hour every day." Hirsch admits the vigorous fitness regime has turned him into a bit of a health nut: "A lot of the physical aspects have stuck with me. I still run a lot and I never ran before the film."