Jai Courtney on how the line between actor and athlete is becoming increasingly blurred

IT might have been the role of a lifetime, but Jai Courtney says the physical preparation for his latest role alongside Arnold Schwarzenegger in Terminator Genisys was “mind-numbing”.

IT might have been the role of a lifetime, but Jai Courtney says the physical preparation for his latest role alongside Arnold Schwarzenegger in Terminator Genisys “sucked”.

The 29-year-old Aussie, who plays Kyle Reese in the latest instalment of the franchise, had to work tirelessly to achieve a size much bigger than his other action roles, including Spartacus, Jack Reacher and Divergent.

“This one sucked for preparation because I had to get as lean as possible,” Courtney told news.com.au, “which means you’re not eating much and you’re doing the most boring kind of training, which is low-impact cardio and so it’s kind of mind-numbing, but you’ve just got to do what you’ve got to do to achieve certain results.”

Jai Courtney had a number of nude scenes to complete in Terminator Genysis.

Jai Courtney plays Kyle Reese.

To add to the monotony, Courtney said his diet was just as boring as his training regimen - pretty much chicken and broccoli.

“I know how to have a good time nutritionally,” he joked.

Courtney said he is expected to be bigger and buffer for every new role he takes on, with the line between actor and athlete becoming increasingly blurred - and it’s all Hugh Jackman’s fault.

“The benchmark keeps being raised and it’s guys like Hugh Jackman and stuff, I mean you look at the evolution of his physique from the early X-Men films to what he’s doing now and he’s not getting any younger, but he’s working harder and I think our idea of what’s extreme is kind of getting further and further away from us so in order to achieve something that appears elite, you’ve got to go further with it.”

Arnold Schwarzenegger & Jai Courtney in Sydney.

It was more important than ever for Courtney to look good though, with a fair bit of “nude work” involved in the film, including a key early scene picturing him absolutely butt naked.

But he admits while he worked hard to look his best in the buff, the nudity didn’t really phase him.

“To be honest, I’m not a shy person, and I don’t get a chance to streak that often these days, but I do have a history of it, so I feel like I came to it relatively easy.”

Terminator Genysis is in cinemas now.

Originally published as Jai Courtney on how the line between actor and athlete is becoming increasingly blurred