"Career Gain" - SID

When Nathaniel Marston (Al) was filming last year's independent feature, Ciao, America, it could have been dubbed Chow America. "At first, the casting directors weren't sure they were going to give me the job because I didn't have the weight," says the actor, who ultimately played the roleof a beefy football linebacker in a love story set in Italy. "I decided I was going to get this job,so I gained 50 pounds!" So just how did he bulk up for the part? "I would eat and lift weights all day long," he relates. "Everyday I had a box of Krispy Kreme donuts, a case of beer, two steak, a whole chicken, and half a dozen eggs. Then I would drink these 2,500 calorie weigh-gainer shakes throughout the day, and I would have about three or four of them. I just got to the point where I couldn't eat anymore!" After months of filming and living in Italy, it was time for Marston to return home -- and to his normal weight. "I did take it off, but not right away," he says with a laugh. "My manager said, 'It's great that you gained the weight for the movie, but there aren't a lot of roles for beefy guys.' Casting directors were doing double-takes and asking what happened to me!"




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