This interview contains spoilers for The Suicide Squad.

Flula Borg loves to over-prepare. Which is probably an understatement for what went down when he was cast in James Gunn’s splashy new Suicide Squad project: about half of the movie’s core cast, including Borg, gets blown to bits in the first ten minutes of the movie. No matter, though: Borg, whose dumbbell knowledge went from “don't eat it” to getting in shape playing an Olympic javelin thrower turned supervillain, is so excited to have found a new hobby—and to be in the film—he doesn’t much care about the minutes he spends onscreen.

“I would have worked out for eight years in exchange for just one lower left calf shot” in the movie, Borg told GQ ahead of last week’s premiere. He gets more than a few ass shots, which he emphasizes are indeed of his real rear end and not the butt cushions the studio offered him to fill out his costume. And he gets to flirt with Margot Robbie, who proceeds to tote his javelin around through the rest of the movie. Most importantly, though, training as Javelin has led Borg to realize the whole fitness thing might not be so bad after all: he’s maintained the same workout schedule he set up before filming, and his mostly healthy eating habits have remained intact. These days, working out means heading to the gym with his trainer (now a close friend) and cathartically shoving some weights in the air.

Borg spoke with GQ about his athletic genes, his newfound goal-less approach to fitness, and how he got those supervillain-level buns.

For Real-Life Diet, GQ talks to athletes, celebrities, and everyone in between about their diet, exercise routines, and pursuit of wellness. Keep in mind that what works for them might not necessarily be healthy for you.

GQ: What was your fitness level like before you got cast as Javelin?

Flula Borg: I was like a disorganized idiot. I knew, like, what is a dumbbell, how do I hold it, where does it go, don't eat it. I knew basic things. My dad's genetics are very kind. It's like playing bumper bowling. He's just an effortless man who looks like whatever those statues are in Italy. I take very little credit.

So if you had to run, say, a 5K a year ago, would it have been a challenge?

That would've been terrible. A 5K sounds absolutely like a nightmare. You would need to tell me, why am I running this, what is at the end of the 5K? Is it a Sprinkles cupcake? Is it an Oscar? I would not do it unless there was a clear goal. That was the old me.

Did you exercise at all?

I played basketball and I like to ski. I did lift some weights, but I didn't have any guidance. That's why I hired this wonderful trainer, Paolo Mascitti. He's Italian, which is perfect because he doesn't understand me, I don't understand him, and we're screaming at each other all the time. He's an expert at whipping people into the shapes, which is thankfully what he did with me.

Were you given any guidance on how James Gunn wanted you to look for the role?

No, in superhero movies there's so much secrecy. I only knew that my character was an Olympic athlete. So I thought, number one, this means gaining some kilograms, gaining some coordination. I knew I needed to do these things immediately. I went to a fitting, where they take a 3D photo of your body and I'm, like, That does not look like a man who has visited the Olympics. Unless, like, in the chess competition. So I needed to make some changes.

What kinds of workouts were you doing?

We did four days a week of heavy weight training for about an hour, with high weight and low reps. Not a lot of cardio because we were trying to throw kilograms onto my buttox. Paolo always switched it up. So we did big muscle movements like pull-ups and deadlifts, but there was no clear routine. I was always confused, which I liked. I've been told it's good to confuse muscles.

But the real solution was food. I have a very high metabolism, so I eat, like, eight times a day. I'm like a locomotive, you constantly need to shove the coals into my mouth. My two natural states are eating and hungry. Usually it's not massive meals, it's not like a Thanksgiving dinner. It's like if I had two fists and converted those into food, I would just do that eight times a day. I wish I had hands I could eat—that would be more convenient.

I had a very strict meal plan that was implemented by Paolo, so I ate not so many carbs and then lots of protein, lots of vegetables. Broccoli became my new BFF. The only carbs were some fruit and some Greek yogurt, which I love, but no sugar and no pasta or anything like that. If we did, it was garbanzo bean pasta.

Did you take cheat days?

One day a week I'd just eat a delicious sourdough pepperoni pizza. I also make s'mores, but I replace the marshmallows with almond butter and make tasty graham cracker Hershey chocolate almond butter sandwiches. And I just eat those by the meter. 

Did you discuss with Paolo how an actual javelin thrower would be exercising?

Well, it's movie magic, so I just had to look the part. I don't have to actually throw a javelin three hundred meters. We did discuss how this guy would look. I saw a little bit of the costume and I noticed which parts of the costume needed to be filled. I was, like, Oh, that's like an empty egg carton, we need to build some eggs for that carton.

Any particular parts you were concerned about?

The rumpus, man! Every hero and villain, you gotta have the buns. That's just how it is. At the first fit, they were, like, “Hey listen, if you don't fill this out we'll provide you with some cushions.” They've got little baby air bags. And I am firmly anti-cushion. So I refused these things. There's no air bags for this guy.

Were you told at any point how much you'd be in the final cut?

No, and I like that. I like ignorance. I like not knowing anything, because I love to over-prepare and then forget everything. It's a nice form of amnesia. And I like to work. I don't like to run 5 kilometers without a goal, but if there's a goal, man, hook me up, sign me up, let me burn all of the calories.

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Were you at all disappointed with how much work went into what turned into a pretty short scene?

I would've worked out for eight years in exchange for just one lower left calf shot in a movie by James Gunn. Small, big, wide screen, small screen, I was just so excited. It's like when you want to be part of a team, if they give you a jersey you're very excited.

Have you maintained any of the eating or exercise you did to train?

You mean, have I reverted to Schlub Town America? No! I'm now Pump Town America.

Same exact eating style, and still four workouts a week. I'm eating a little more carbs now because Paolo has instructed me to gain some more kilograms, so a little bit of the healthy stuff, brown rice and potatoes and things. I like to feel like I'm in the part, so leading up to the premiere Paolo and I have been working together more. Really we've returned to the old thing. During the pandemic we didn't work together, so I was going through workout withdrawal.

Paolo and I have become very good friends. Some people like to go grab a drink and talk, I like to go grab a heavy weight and scream at Paolo, and he screams at me. And for real, this is just very good for my brain. You can't act on all of your primal urges in the real world, but you can just scream at some weights and push them very high in the sky. So I do that.

You said you’re very goal-oriented. Now that you’re not working towards a specific role, how are you motivating yourself to exercise?

The goal now is just to feel good, and it's an excuse for me to spend some time with a good friend. But the long term goal is this: in the 80s we had Schwarzenegger, we had Dolph Lundgren, and it's time for another man with not-so-great English but firm buttocks to take over the action world.

So are you planning to keep this current routine?

Yes. I don't think I want to get too large, because then you just become the bouncer in every Fast and Furious film. So just staying as if I could probably defeat an 80 year old man in arm wrestling safely. That's where I am now. I'd like to stay in this little range.

Read MoreThe Real-Life Diet of Shot Put GOAT Ryan Crouser, Who Aims to Never Be Hungry

Ahead of the Tokyo Games—where he just won gold—Crouser talked to GQ about breaking the world record and eating six meals a day. 

By Danielle Cohen



Danielle Cohen is GQ's Editorial Business Assistant.Related Stories for GQReal Life DietWorking OutFood