Jesse Plemons Says He Doesn't Know If He'd Gain Weight Again for a Role: 'It Did Mess Me Up a Bit'

Mar. 15, 2025

Jesse Plemons attends the 82nd Annual Golden Globes on Jan. 5. 2025.Photo:John Nacion/GG2025/Penske Media via Getty

John Nacion/GG2025/Penske Media via Getty

Jesse Plemonsis getting candid about his experience gaining weight for a role more than a decade ago and how it “dictated the types of parts I was being asked to play.”

TheZero Daystar, 36, revealed in a new interview withThe Independentthat putting on weight for 2015’sBlack Mass— in which he famously played former mobster Kevin Weeks — “did mess me up a bit” after.

“I don’t know if it’s something I would do again — because it did mess me up a bit,” Plemons revealed.

The actor added that the decision to gain weight for the role also had a lasting impact on him and his career. “I felt like that decision I made sort of dictated the types of parts I was being asked to play, and then started to seep into my own identity," he said, “which wasn’t necessarily who I was before that.”

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Jesse Plemons in Black Mass' in 2015.Alamy

Alamy

As the Academy Award nominee toldThe Independent, his role in 2024’sCivil Warlaterprompted him to lose weight through lifestyle changes and fasting — with his casting having “snapped me out of it,” he said.

“As well as having young kids,” Plemons added. “And I just got a handle on it again. Having lost the weight, aside from feeling better, it does feel like I’ve opened another door to potential parts I can play.”

The actor — who is dad to sonsEnnis, 6, andJames, 3, whom he shares with wifeKirsten Dunst— previously told theLos Angeles Timesthat it was “really unfortunate that I decided to get healthy when everyone decided to take Ozempic.”

Jesse Plemons attends the 82nd Annual Golden Globe Awards on Jan. 5, 2025.Amy Sussman/Getty

Amy Sussman/Getty

Plemons is currently starring alongsideAngela Bassett,Connie BrittonandRobert De Niroin Netflix’sZero Day, which follows a former U.S. president who goes to extreme lengths to track down “the perpetrators of a devastating cyber attack that has caused chaos around the country and thousands of fatalities,” per a synopsis. When it comes to the series, Plemons toldThe Independentthat he has “gotten a little more comfortable with the reality of working with” De Niro, 81, whom he has worked with a few times before.

“It’s one of those things I never even thought to dream about,” he said. “You don’t even allow that thought… he’s one of the best actors of all time. Those few scenes I had with him inThe Irishman, I was doing just everything I could to not freak out.”

Zero Dayis now streaming on Netflix.

source: people.com