Sophie Turner Prepares for Tomb Raider Role with Intense Training

Sophie Turner is gearing up for her upcoming role as Lara Croft in the new “Tomb Raider” movie, and she’s definitely putting in the effort. During a recent appearance on SiriusXM’s “The Julia Cunningham Show,” she opened up about her demanding training regimen for the part.

Turner revealed she’s been training rigorously—eight hours a day, five days a week—since February of last year. It’s been quite the journey for her. When asked about surprising discoveries during this period, she shared, “I found out that I had permanent back problems, but I also realized that it’s much easier to build up certain muscles if you’ve ever worked out in your life.” She admitted she had never really exercised before, which made getting into shape a lengthy process for her.

Interestingly, when Cunningham inquired if her time on “Game of Thrones” had helped her with this new role, Turner humorously responded, “No, I didn’t have to because I was the cool queen. And also, I wasn’t the one doing the punches, I was the one getting punched.” She noted that it’s definitely a good skill to learn how to throw punches for a change.

Turner’s transformation echoes the experiences of other stars. For instance, Matt Damon recently talked about his own physical transformation to portray the legendary Greek hero Odysseus in “The Odyssey.” He shared how he lost significant weight to achieve a leaner look for the role, which is quite remarkable considering how much effort typically goes into these kinds of changes.

Damon mentioned he made substantial dietary adjustments and lost weight significantly, noting, “I used to walk in between 185 and 200 pounds, and I played the whole movie at 167 pounds. I hadn’t been that light since high school.” You really have to admire the lengths actors go to for their roles.