Movies

Jason Momoa 'had six-hour workouts for Conan the Barbarian'

Published Saturday, Jul 30 2011, 17:37 BST | By Tom Ayres | 5 comments

Jason Momoa has revealed that he had to endure gruelling six-hour workout sessions to bulk up for the lead role in Conan the Barbarian.

The 6ft 4in actor was asked to put on 20lbs to play the iconic pulp hero, a role made famous by Arnold Schwarzenegger in John Milius's 1982 original.

"We do two hours of sword work first, then have a little break, eat a broiled chicken, do two hours of weightlifting and have cardio," Momoa explained, according to People. "Then I'd go home and basically the best thing I could do is sleep and rest."

Momoa also revealed that he put on an additional ten pounds to star as the Dothraki warlord Khal Drogo in HBO's critically-acclaimed series Game of Thrones.

"I wanted to put fat on top of it so that [Drogo] would be seven feet tall and really, really big, because he's not sitting around doing sit-ups," the actor explained. "I just ate Guinness and pizza."

The action remake also stars Avatar actor Stephen Lang, along with Ron Perlman, Rose McGowan and Rachel Nichols.

Conan the Barbarian opens in cinemas on August 19 in the US and on August 26 in the UK.

Watch the film's trailer below: