Lily James’ personal trainer, Matt Bevan, has revealed how he helped get the actor to physically prepare for her role as Pamela Anderson in the new Hulu series, Pam & Tommy.
Speaking to Vogue, Bevan explained that he crafted a specific workout regime for the 32-year-old actor.
“With Lily playing such an icon, there was always going to be a huge pressure to look as much like Pamela as possible, but what I always feel is equally important is getting my clients to a place where they can perform their absolute best — that meant embodying Anderson’s inner confidence and strength, as well as getting Lily as aesthetically close to accurately portraying her as possible,” he explained.
Bevan added that James did “a lot of work and research behind the scenes” in order to perfect her routine.
The actor had four months to prepare for the role and chose to do four to five workouts a week.
However, due to the pandemic, James had to exercise with Bevan remotely at home using standard equipment.
James was also filming a romantic comedy at the time, and so had to have completed her workouts by 5.30am each day in order to make it to set.
“We had to get creative and made use of light dumbbells, resistance bands, sliding discs and towels — yes, the ones you use to dry yourself!” Bevan said.
“Then we adjusted variables, such as the tempo of each exercise, stability and range of motion.
“After that, we moved into full body strength, circuit-based workouts, increasing her strength and aerobic conditioning.”
Bevan explained that James would perform banded deadlifts and kettlebell goblet squats, doing 12 to 15 reps of the exercises each.
She would also use a cardio climber and a mini trampoline for cardio.
The goal, he explained, was to help James develop lean muscles while maintaining her petite size.
“It’s tough — your cardiovascular system is being worked and you’re also stimulating the muscles,” he said.
Bevan also worked with James to overhaul her diet, eliminating refined sugar and alcohol except for on weekends.
“I worked out her calorific needs and then sent her a couple of weeks of sample menus with some recipes in, and Lily took ownership,” he said.
“We stuck to three meals a day and a couple of snacks. I don’t like anyone to be limiting what they love, so she was allowed to have a treat or two weekly.”
As for James’ commitment to the process, Bevan explained: “All I asked when we began was that she did the best she could and she turned up time after time with the best intention to work hard and give it her all.
“It can be difficult to change physically without real commitment — particularly with a goal like Pamela Anderson! But we trained consistently, and that’s exactly what we did.”
