Jesse Plemons has lost weight, and he does not want you to think it’s because of Ozempic.
The actor opened up about his fitness journey in a Los Angeles Times article published on Thursday, June 13. In it, he describes how intermittent fasting helped him shed some weight to prepare for a role and keep up with “getting older.”
“It’s really unfortunate that I decided to get healthy when everyone decided to take Ozempic,” Plemons, 36, said. “It doesn’t matter, everyone’s going to think I took Ozempic anyways.”
Ozempic, a type 2 diabetes medication that is traditionally used to improve glycemic control, has become popular for its efficacy in weight loss. Celebrities including Tracy Morgan, Heather Gay, Chelsea Handler and Remi Bader have all spoken up about using the drug.
Plemons previously put on weight for his role as a Boston mobster in 2015 crime drama Black Mass, but recent photos showed his transformation. When shots of Plemons wearing a black tuxedo on the Oscars red carpet alongside wife Kirsten Dunst went viral in March, social media was abuzz with Ozempic speculation.
“What it was was getting older,” Plemons said. “I hate even getting specific because then it turns into a whole thing, but there was a part that I did that in my mind I could not imagine him as the size that I was.”
That role was a brief cameo in the dystopian war thriller Civil War, in which he played an ultranationalist militant. Dunst, 46, starred in the film as photojournalist Lee Smith.
Intermittent fasting has become another popular weight loss method, in which one restricts the times they eat to a certain period of the day, leaving the rest of the day to fast. Jack Dorsey, Jennifer Aniston, Chris Pratt and Jimmy Kimmel have all found success with intermittent fasting.
“Several people talked to me about intermittent fasting, and I just gave it a shot and [was] surprised at how quickly it was effective,” Plemons said.
Eventually, he says he “felt like I was in the rhythm, I was feeling better, and something shifted in my head. I just sort of got a handle on it.”
Ironically, after losing weight, he was approached about a role in the dark comedy anthology Kinds of Kindness, in which director Yorgos Lanthimos wanted “the bigger” version of Plemons. The actor was able to convince Lanthimos that he could still get the job done, and Plemons was eventually cast to play three characters.
