Dan Stevens: ‘I worked out four hours a day for new film role’

Dan Stevens has revealed that he worked out for four hours a day to prepare for his role in forthcoming film The Guest.

The 31-year-old actor, who shot to fame playing Matthew Crawley on Downton Abbey, stars in the upcoming psychological thriller as a charming, enigmatic ex-soldier. In the latest issue of Attitude, he discusses how he transformed his body for the role.

“For a month before I was training about four hours a day and just eating the right things at the right time,” Stevens explains. “I just became very routine, and I’m not very good with routines.”

Stevens also reveals that he met an American Special Ops team in order to prepare for the demanding part.

He recalls: “The first thing I remembered thinking was – I was quite grateful, they weren’t all built like brick shithouses. They were all very much my sort of build.”

“They were very lean and athletic – which people wouldn’t necessarily associate with me – but I put in some hard work in the gym and I got myself there or thereabouts,” Stevens continues. “If you’re built like a bodybuilder, you can’t reach in your pack to get your machine gun or crawl under barbed wire. These are wiry guys.”

To read the full interview with Dan Stevens, pick up a copy of the latest issue of Attitude, which features Sherlock and Pride star Andrew Scott on the cover.

You can download the latest issue of Attitude now at pocketmags.com/attitude or order via post at newsstand.co.uk/attitude. You’ll be able to pick up a copy in shops from tomorrow (August 20). The Guest opens in UK cinemas on September 5.