Sucker Punch actors take training on the chin | Ola Animashawun

Playing a boxer is hard work ? is this method acting taken to extremes?Get up early. Breakfast: 3 boiled eggs; 1 bowl of muesli with skimmed milk; 4 slices of toast with seeded bread and maple syrup; 2 pieces of fruit of your choice; 1 glass of orange juice; 1 glass of water ? the biggest meal of the day. Train for an hour with the coach (Errol Christie, former European middleweight boxing champion), focus on technique. Train for another hour alone, focus on your legs. Break: drink 2 protein shakes. Go to rehearsals. Break for lunch: white meat (no skin) with few carbs; boiled vegetables. Back to rehearsals. Break for the day. Evening meal: fish (grilled, not fried) with few carbs; more boiled vegetables. Learn your lines. Break ? try and pay some attention to your home life. End of the day - eat a bowl of porridge made with skimmed milk. Go to sleep in order to wake early tomorrow and start again.What am I going on about? This is just a brief insight into the daily routines over the past six months of Daniel Kaluuya and Anthony Welsh, two of the actors in the current production of Roy Williams's play, Sucker Punch, at the Royal Court Theatre. It's a routine that clearly demands the utmost in determination, dedication and focus. It has yielded a pair of six-packs, peak fitness and ? in Kaluuya's case ? the disposal of three stones of weight (visibly surplus to requirements from the off, he admits).Few would question the necessity for an actor to push themselves to the extremes of endurance and physical transformation for the sake of the part. After all, how else could you realistically portray a pair of welterweight boxers in their prime, fighting for a shot at the world title, before a live audience? Even Hollywood accepts that there are still certain physical attributes best not faked.Of course it takes motivation but, like most things, this is not one element acting in isolation ? it's a combination of complimentary factors each coming to the fore at the appropriate and crucial moment. In other words, to truly succeed you need the right network of support. In some ways, the motivation is easy ? who wouldn't train and diet if they knew they were getting paid to do a job they love? Even so, there will still be days when you want to stay in bed or stay out late and wash down that kebab with another lager? which is when your network steps in to coax, support, advise, guide, and coach.So maybe acting isn't such a solitary business after all, even when it comes to preparing for a role. Maybe it's just as well ? Kaluuya and Welsh have a lot of work still ahead of them. Sucker Punch has just been extended until the end of the month.TheatreBoxingOla Animashawunguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

Luciano Bute Felix Sturm Amir Khan