Chris Diamantopoulos is one of those greatly committed actors that seems to shape-shift depending on the role at hand. He shredded himself down to 7.1% bodyfat for his role alongside Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, Ryan Reynolds, and Gal Gadot, in the 2021 movie Red Notice, but in his start-turn on Prime Video’s new comedy-drama, The Sticky, the actor went in the other direction in order to nail the physical comedy required of him on set.
Muscle & Fitness caught up with Diamantopoulos to find out more.
“You know, on a show like this, there is some actual physical heavy lifting,” says Diamantopoulos, who plays gangster, Mike Byrne in The Sticky, a series that is loosely based on the Great Canadian Maple Syrup Heist. “I did a lot of pratfalls because my character is wearing the wrong shoes for this snowy terrain, and I had to make sure that when I fell, I could repeat that fall over and over again for hours and hours and hours.”
Accomplishing this took some time, the actor says. He says part of his training came from his work on another Amazon series. “[It required] different setups, different camera angles, different takes without injuring myself. And so that’s something that I’ve learned to do over time, that if I’m going to do something on a take, I have to be prepared to repeat it over and over and over again. I just came from Portland, where I’m shooting an exciting new show, also for Amazon, called Criminal. It’s an Ed Brubaker show, and it stars among other people, Charlie Hunnam and Amelia Clark and Luke Evans. And now, that’s a show where not only are you reciting your lines and walking and looking in this direction and knowing where the camera is, but now you’re dealing with gunfire and explosions and squibs.”
Chris Diamantopoulos bulked up for ‘The Sticky’
For Red Notice, Diamantopoulos famously cut down to 7.1% bodyfat in order to play the evil villain, but in The Sticky, the actor of Greek descent says that putting on some extra weight has helped him to nail some of the more physical stuff.
His brother, Gus, is a strength and conditioning coach and owner of Toronto’s The Strength Room in Toronto, Canada. Gus has been overseeing the stars’ progress. “I think I’m closer to 16% body fat, but he said to me, ‘You know, I gotta be honest with you: From an aesthetic standpoint and from a power standpoint, because my muscle mass is up by about 6.5 pounds as well, I kind of like this on you!’”
Diamantopoulos was aware going into The Sticky that being fit was more important than being ripped. “The physical requirements of this job were different,” he explains. “They weren’t so much from an aesthetic standpoint as much as they were from a functional standpoint. I had to do a lot of literal heavy lifting on this show, and a lot of physical comedy that required falling and getting hurt.”
To that end, Diamantopoulos relaxed his intermittent fasting schedule. His training consisted of “slow body weight stuff to keep myself flexible and strong. Lots of slow chin ups, lots of slow body squats, lots of slow dips and push-ups and stuff like that, and not training very often. Really just giving my body a chance to recover.”
The Sticky also stars three-time Emmy Award winner Margo Martindale and guest stars Jamie Lee Curtis, who also served as executive producer on the fast paced six-part comedy-drama. Diamantopoulos says that he loved the shoot and got on like “peas and carrots” with the rest of his illustrious cast. For now, the actor is enjoying his bulkier frame. “I don’t mind a little extra meat on the bone,” he says. Until the next project requires another shape-shift, of course!
The Sticky premieres Dec. 6, 2024 on Prime Video. You can see Chris Diamantopoulos’ entire interview with M&F below.