J.K. Simmons was too intimidated to workout with Dwayne Johnson off-set when preparing for Red One.
Red One is now playing in United States theaters. The Christmas adventure movie stars Simmons as a very muscular Santa Claus, while Johnson plays a character named Callum Drift. The cast also includes Chris Evans as Jack O’Malley, Lucy Liu as Zoe Harlow, Kiernan Shipka as Grýla, and Bonnie Hunt as Mrs. Claus.
What did J.K. Simmons say about Dwayne Johnson and training for Red One?
Speaking with Entertainment Weekly, Simmons was asked if he did any workouts with Johnson during his training regimen for Red One.
“No. That was just too intimidating,” Simmons answered. “He works out on Christmas Day. He’s on a whole other level. I just have an exercise bike and a few dumbbells in my hotel room, wherever we’re shooting.”
Regarding the training he did to prepare for the movie, Simmons said, “I’ve gone up and down in my life with being healthy. For the last 15 years, I tried to stay pretty even-keeled in my weight. So I’ve been relatively healthy for the last decade and a half, and I actually look for projects like this where I get that extra motivation.”
The synopsis for Red One reads, “After Santa Claus – Code Name: RED ONE – is kidnapped, the North Pole’s Head of Security (Dwayne Johnson) must team up with the world’s most infamous bounty hunter (Chris Evans) in a globe-trotting, action-packed mission to save Christmas.”
The film is directed by Jake Kasdan, who previously made 2007’s Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story, 2011’s Bad Teacher, 2014’s Sex Tape, 2017’s Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, and 2019’s Jumanji: The Next Level, among other titles. The screenplay was written by Chris Morgan.
Red One is now playing in United States theaters.