Jesse Plemons Says He Lost Weight from Intermittent Fasting: 'Everyone’s Going to Think I Took Ozempic'

Jesse Plemons knows that the timing of his weight loss might seem suspicious. 

“It’s really unfortunate that I decided to get healthy when everyone decided to take Ozempic,” the actor, 36, told The Los Angeles Times. “It doesn’t matter, everyone’s going to think I took Ozempic anyways.”

The diabetes drug has become a popular weight-loss tool in Hollywood. But acclaimed character actor Plemons— who famously gained weight to play Boston mobster Kevin Weeks in 2015’s Black Mass — said his fitness journey wasn’t motivated by his appearance, but by his age, and his scene-stealing role in the new drama, Civil War.

“What it was was getting older and — 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.”  

The part he’s referring to is his cameo in the apocalyptic war drama, where he appears as a soldier in a tense scene with wife Kirsten Dunst, with whom he shares sons Ennis, 6, and James, 3.  

“I lost a little bit before I did that part,” Plemons told the outlet of the now-infamous scene, which Durst said was “a really disturbing role to play.”

“Several people talked to me about intermittent fasting and I just gave it a shot and [was] surprised at how quickly it was effective.”

Intermittent fasting is the time-restricted approach to eating that has become a popular weight-loss tool. Those who use IF say like the ease of the system, where you limit your eating hours to a portion of the day, then "fast" during the remaining hours to lose weight.

Devotees include Jennifer Aniston, Chris Pratt, and Kourtney Kardashian.

After starting intermittent fasting, Plemons 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.”

And while he admitted that for his new role in Kinds of Kindness. he worried that director Yorgos Lanthimos wanted “the bigger me,” he said being physically thinner actually worked in the role.

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As for what’s next, Plemons tells the LAT he isn’t planning ahead.

“I’ve been doing it for so long that it almost doesn’t benefit to look too far ahead. And that’s kind of worked for me so far ... I’m constantly just looking at this next thing and following my gut [about] what is interesting and exciting to me.”

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