We talk a lot about getting in superhero shape. Brie Larson made push-ups look easy while training for The Marvels, and Chris Hemsworth was back building up his biceps to get ready to play Thor once again. However, embodying a superhero takes more than just being in pristine physical shape, as Avengers: Doomsday’s Lewis Pullman pointed out while explaining another hard aspect of physically preparing to play a hero.
With Avengers: Doomsday being one of the most highly anticipated upcoming Marvel movies on the 2026 movie schedule, its cast gets asked about it often. In this case, Pullman got a question about what kind of training he did for Doomsday during an interview with Deadline. Instead of revealing workouts, he opened up about figuring out the best build for his character, saying:
You know, as Bob Reynolds/The Sentry, it’s different for every movie. I think that for Thunderbolts* it was a hard one, because he’s starting as Bob and then you see him become Sentry. And so if we’re just talking straight builds right here, having a build that is both believable as a kind of meek, unthreatening guy but then also can step into the suit and fill the suit out and be kind of defined and wiry still be believable as a very, very powerful entity. As both things, it’s a challenge to be able to kind of exist in both spaces.
Lewis Pullman had a unique challenge on Thunderbolts*. Bob does not know he’s the Sentry at the start of the film, which you can now stream with a Disney+ subscription, and he hasn’t knowingly harnessed his power in a big way. So, he does not come off as a ripped superhero.
However, later in the movie, when he’s in Sentry mode and wearing a supersuit, it’s clear that Lewis Pullman got in fantastic shape and can move like a confident hero.
As the Lessons in Chemistry actor said, they had to find a build that suited both sides of his character. He had to be able to look “unthreatening” as Bob, but he also had to “fill the suit” when he put it on. So, yes, Pullman did get ripped for the movie, but the way he literally held himself also impacted his look, as he explained:
It requires a lot of just straight-up kind of body work that’s actually outside of just training. It’s also how you hold yourself and the difference in the silhouettes.
It’s crazy what a difference this can make. When he’s Bob, he’s a bit slouchier and shier in the way he stands. As Sentry, he has to stand taller and with more confidence. The way he holds himself helps us understand which version of the character he’s inhabiting at a given moment, and he does a great job at it. However, I also imagine that it has to be difficult.
Now, I’m very excited to see what Pullman does in Avengers: Doomsday. He’ll be in the film along with his Thunderbolts* castmates and a bunch of other Marvel mainstays while Robert Downey Jr. returns to the MCU as Doctor Doom. So, we’re bound to see a lot of actors in superhero shape. However, also pay attention to how they’re physically holding themselves and creating silhouettes, because that plays into a character’s physical appearance in a big way.
So, with all that said, to see Lewis Pullman in action, you can catch Avengers: Doomsday in theaters on December 18.
