Penn Badgley opens up about intense weight loss for upcoming rom-com role

Penn Badgley shared preparing for his latest role left him “consumed” with losing weight.

He admitted to pushing himself to achieve a Marvel-style physique for the upcoming comedy You Deserve Each Other.

Speaking on the January 29 episode of his Podcrushed podcast, the Gossip Girl alum revealed that he signed onto the project just before filming began and quickly threw himself into training.

“I was mostly consumed with losing enough weight, so it just made sense for how maniacal this guy was supposed to be about his body,” Badgley explained.

He stars as Dr. Nicholas Rose, a dentist described as stable, polite and seemingly perfect but secretly locked in a toxic relationship with fiancée Naomi Westfield, played by Meghann Fahy.

The pair realize days away from their wedding that they despise each other and begin competing to sabotage the ceremony.

“The way he is written on the page is truly, like, I should have had a shredded eight-pack. I should have had a Marvel body,” Badgley said.

“And I had like a real-life good body, you know what I’m saying? There’s a difference.”

The actor admitted the physical demands were new for him.

“I never had to lose weight and get kind of ripped for a role, so I was just like, ‘Of all things, it’s for a f---ing comedy, of course,’” he joked.

The film which wrapped last year also features Natalie Morales, Justin Long, Kyle MacLachlan, Ana Gasteyer, Hope Davis, Delaney Rowe and Lisa Gilroy.

Amazon MGM confirmed that the actor Timothy Busfield who was originally cast as Fahy’s father will be digitally removed following criminal charges.

You Deserve Each Other has yet to announce a release date.