ENTERTAINMENTTaron Egerton Reveals He 'Starved' Himself to Achieve His 'Apex' Physique: 'I Was Running Myself Absolutely Ragged'
Taron Egerton said he had to starve himself to meet the fitness requirements of his 'Apex' role.
Aug. 11 2026, Published 10:01 a.m. ET
Taron Egerton opened up about the hellish journey he embarked on to achieve his swoon-worthy physique in Apex.
During his appearance on Dax Shepard's “Armchair Expert” podcast on Monday, August 10, he noted, “The truth of the matter is that I starved myself.”
“I was running myself absolutely ragged to get there,” he added.
Taron Egerton opened up about struggling with body image issues.
Taron Egerton Said He Punishes Himself For Not Maintaining the Strict Fitness Standards Hollywood Imposes on Actors
Taron Egerton admitted he struggled with the pressure to maintain his 'Apex' physique after pushing himself to achieve his idealized body for the film.
The 36-year-old said that while achieving his Apex physique was difficult, he also struggled with not being able to maintain it.
“It’s worth being wary of that, I think, because that version of me in Apex, the guy who’s whatever silly body fat I was, and all kind of strong, every day I punish myself for not looking like that,” he revealed.
However, he admitted that he once received some very good advice from a friend who told him to “smash” that “idealized version” of him rather than “aspire” to achieve it.
“It’s been a tremendous help to me. It’s one of the things that is a challenge nobody wants to hear about, but fluctuating relationship with your own images,” he said.
Taron Egerton said he has made peace with the fact that body image issues are bound to pop up from time to time due to how many characters he needs to embody.
The Welsh actor also stated that even after achieving the physique required for Apex and the 2014 film Kingsman: The Secret Service, he was “filled with self-loathing” during the “shirtless [filming] days.”
“I couldn’t enjoy it at the time because I’d completely lost any distorted sense of perspective,” Egerton explained.
However, he has seemingly accepted the turmoil as part of the process an actor goes through while embodying different characters over the course of their career.
“Also, it ain’t that deep. You bounce back, you carry on. It’s fine. It’s just what it is, you know?” he remarked.
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Taron Egerton Admitted His 'Apex' Role was 'Irresistible'
Taron Egerton found his 'Apex' role to be 'delicious and irresistible.'
Apex was released on Netflix back in April, starring Charlize Theron as a grieving woman who ends up becoming the target of a serial killer in the deep Australian wilderness who hunts her relentlessly.
Egerton played the killer named Ben.
He told Tudum before the movie’s premiere, “The extremity of the role really appealed to me.”
“Ben is just about the most f—--‑up character I’ve ever played. There was something delicious and irresistible about it,” he added.
Taron Egerton said his 'Apex' role was 'beyond rescuing.'
“I kind of think that’s what I was being paid for, so that’s a good thing. Ben is supposed to be arresting, supposed to be scary. But I think with good villains, there’s always a part of you that empathizes, or at least recognizes their humanity or how broken they are,” he continued.
“I would never excuse the monster that he’s been, but I think there are enough clues in the storytelling to know he’s a pretty broken individual, someone beyond rescuing,” the Black Bird star concluded.
