‘The Little Mermaid’ Star Jonah Hauer-King’s Trainer Reveals How He Achieved a ‘Strong Sailor Boy’ Physique for the Blockbuster

The American fantasy film The Little Mermaid hit the screens on 26th May. To the unversed, Halle Bailey and Jonah Hauer-King played the lead roles of Mermaid Ariel and Prince Eric respectively. For the role of Prince Eric, Hauer-King had to train to resemble a strong sailor boy.

But with the onset of the COVID-19 Pandemic, the filming of the movie was stalled. The actor had to continue his bodybuilding training to maintain the desired physique for eight months more. However, the result was not as desired by the director of the film Rob Marshall and he had to intervene to stop the bulking up of Hauer-King.

Jonah Hauer-King’s bodybuilding training for the role of Prince Eric

The English actor had to train to essay a “strong sailor boy.” But the eight-month of extra training because of the pandemic-induced delay left Hauer-King as an “Incredible Hulk.” The trainer of the actor, Sana Shirvani confessed that she put the male lead on a “traditional bodybuilding style program,” so that he could build lean muscle mass.

“We got him to that point, and then obviously if he continued training in that capacity, he was only going to get bigger and bigger,” she told the Insider. And she went on to add that the director suggested to her, “We are not after the Incredible Hulk, we want a strong sailor boy.”

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So, Jonah Hauer’s calorie surplus diet was discontinued apart from the reduction of the training regime. The trainer even appreciated that the 28-year-old actor was very dedicated to his diet and workout regime and was a thorough professional. Earlier, the director of the film spilled beans on an incident while filming.

A frightening incident involving Javier Bardem on the set

The Walt Disney Pictures film was high on CGI film-making. To shoot the underwater scenes, the actors have to enact scenes while suspended in the air. Javier Bardem essaying the role of King Triton was suspended from 40 feet for one sequence. Unfortunately, he fell by 15 feet which freaked out the film crew. 

While engrossed in the film promotions, the director said, ”We almost lost Javier,” however the Academy Award winner wasn’t traumatized after the incident.

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The film was well-received by the audience and turned out to be a blockbuster. The critics praised the actors’ performance as well as the musical sequences.