Actor and nutritionist Taylor Kitsch reflects back on his rapid weight loss to portray war photographer Kevin Carter in “The Bang Bang Club” and thought it was “f***ing stupid.”

He said:

“I lost 35lb (15.8kg) in two months. That was f***ing stupid and there’s not a lot of actors who will do that. It’s just way too extreme, and being a nutritionist I found it hard. Everything I knew just went out the window.

“The way I worked, it changed my walk, my confidence, everything. I was very bipolar. My mood swings were f***ing insane. I was very emotional, I had night terrors, I couldn’t sleep. It was a zoo.”

But Taylor was afraid that if he didn’t follow through all the way, it would drive him nuts knowing that someone might be disappointed by his efforts.

In an interview with the new issue of Men’s Health magazine, on sale March 5, he added:

“The worst feeling in the world is doing something and people thinking, ‘Ah, he could have worked harder.’

“In the end it’s about energy. If you put half your energy into something, you’re only going to get that back at the end of the day. But I’m like, ‘What if I put in f***ing everything without any other variable?’ That’s what I was like for John Carter. I was like, ‘OK Kitsch, let’s see what you can do.’ Just give it everything.”