JUSTIN THEROUX HAS had one of the most interesting careers of any actor over the last few decades. Armed with movie-star good looks, a great sense of humor, and dramatic skills to match, it’s easy to envision a world where Theroux has been leading romcoms and thrillers once or so a year. Instead, he’s opted to take chances; some of his most notable roles include a pair of surreal David Lynch films (Mulholland Drive and Inland Empire), one of HBO’s greatest shows ever (The Leftovers), and a number of hilariously eccentric comedic turns (the underrated Wanderlust alongside Paul Rudd, an evil DJ in Zoolander, which he co-wrote).
He’s keeping the weirdo streak going with a role in Tim Burton’s long-awaited Beetlejuice sequel Beetlejuice Beetlejuice (alongside returning cast members Michael Keaton, Winona Ryder, and Catherine O’Hara), which he notes in a new Eat Like video for Men’s Health was one of his most fun projects—because, unlike some others, he didn’t have to adjust the way he was eating. “We were all in heavy black clothing, and the part didn’t require it,” he says with a laugh.”
Adjusting his diet and eating habits is a road he’s gone far down in the past, however. He says that any project where he needs to be shirtless a lot (like The Leftovers), he’ll need to adjust what he eats (“I think anyone does”). But one role in particular had him going farther than he’s ever gone before: Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle, where he played Drew Barrymore’s character’s ex-boyfriend—who also happened to be the head of the Irish mob.
“I was just eating very, very low carbs. I was trying to be extremely thin, and sort of wiry. The inspo was Iggy Pop,” he says. “That was the strictest I’ve ever been in my life, where I just had absolutely no sugar, no alcohol, no nothing, and just tried to get as minimal body fat as possible.”
Theroux has maintained a strong physique throughout his career, though, no matter the project—as off the beaten path or surprising as any of them may be.
You can check out the full Eat Like video to learn more about Theroux’s eating habits and how he balances clean eating and working out.
