For most actors, simply learning their lines isn’t enough to do their role justice. Instead, they lean into embodying the character they’re playing—and that can sometimes mean making a dramatic physical transformation. Case in point: Orlando Bloom’s 30-pound weight loss for his role in the upcoming film The Cut, premiering in theaters September 5. To prepare for the film, 48-year-old Bloom drastically cut back on calories, at one point following a “tuna and cucumber” diet to reach his goal. But was his extreme approach to weight loss actually healthy? We spoke to an expert to find out.
How Orlando Bloom lost 30 lbs for his role in ‘The Cut’
In The Cut, Bloom plays a retired boxer who left the profession after an injury. He gets another chance to enter the ring following the death of another boxer, but to qualify to compete, he must lose a lot of weight in only six days using extreme measures, according to the Toronto International Film Festival.
In an interview with People, Bloom shared that he worked with a nutritionist to lose weight for the role. “I was supervised weekly and my blood work monitored by an expert nutritionist, Phillip Goglia, who helped me lose 30 pounds in approximately three months,” Bloom told the publication.
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While he had professional support and guidance to lose weight, Bloom made it clear that the process wasn’t easy. The “water restriction to get to my lowest weight for the final scenes led to obsessive thoughts of food, dreaming of what I could eat when finally off a diet of tuna and cucumber.”
Bloom experienced ‘paranoia and anxiety’ during his weight-loss journey
Bloom didn’t just dream of foods he could go back to enjoying when off his diet; he also experienced several side effects that impacted his mental health.
“What I hadn’t expected and was surprised by was the mental toll that this kind of intense discipline takes,” Bloom told People. “The paranoia and anxiety were very real and disturbing, caused by the lack of sleep—turns out you can’t sleep when you’re hungry!” The actor was also clear that what he did is “definitely not something to try at home.”
“It’s a total nutrition disaster, frankly.” —Hope Barkoukis, PhD, RDN
Still, Bloom says he was “excited by the challenge,” telling People the film carries a greater message of embracing who you are. “Ultimately, this is a story about the struggles we all face and what it takes to battle our internal demons and find self-acceptance.”
The problem with restrictive diets
While Bloom’s extreme diet helped him achieve rapid weight loss under the care of a medical team, for the rest of us, it’s not safe or sustainable.
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“This diet consumption on a regular basis sets the person up for malnutrition, insufficient total calories, missing vitamins and minerals [and] not enough energy sources (carbohydrates),” says Hope Barkoukis, PhD, RDN, LD, FAND, Chair of the Department of Nutrition at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine. “[It’s] a total nutrition disaster, frankly.”
As for the alarming side effects Bloom experienced, Barkoukis explains why they might have occurred: “This diet parallels a starvation situation. The body will experience malnutrition, insufficient electrolytes, GI problems such as constipation, insufficient brain nutrients and hence mood swings, anxiety, obsessing over food, decreased ability to concentrate or focus, definitely low energy levels, easy fatigue [and] disruptive sleep. The negative results are for every aspect of body functioning.”
Safer alternatives for healthy, sustainable weight loss
Instead of trying a restrictive cucumber-and-tuna type of diet, Barkoukis recommends that people interested in weight loss take the time to research all of the different diets available to determine what might be a good fit. If deep-diving into individual diets sounds like a lot, Barkoukis suggests checking the US News Best Diets of 2025, for which she served as one of the experts, as well as discussing with your doctor might work for you.
More celebrity weight loss stories:
Harvey Fierstein, 73, on His 120-Lb. Weight Loss: ‘I Don’t Feel Like I’m Dieting’
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Mariah Carey Lost 70 Pounds With Prepped Meals—and No Longer Steps on a Scale
This content is not a substitute for professional medical advice or diagnosis. Always consult your physician before pursuing any treatment plan.