Kevin James Weight Loss: Actor Trained Hard For ‘Here Comes The Boom’ Role

Actor Kevin James’ weight loss is a direct result of all the training his did in preparation for his latest cinematic endeavor. According to CNN Entertainment, the King of Queens star trained for over 14 months to portray Scott Voss in director Frank Coraci’s Here Comes the Boom. The end result: a thinner, more muscular version of the popular comedian.

The film, which opens in theaters tomorrow (October 12), finds the hefty actor portraying a biology teacher who moonlights as a mixed martial artist to raise money for the activities being cut at his school. In order to make audiences believe that he could handle himself in the ring, Kevin James hit the gym in order to shed some weight and pack on some muscle.

To prepare for the role in Here Comes the Boom, James put together an exercise regime that included of lots of running and plenty of sparring. In order to get his body ready for this physical transformation, he also made some serious adjustments to his diet.

During a recent interview to promote his upcoming feature, Kevin James explained that tackling such a role was both a dream come true and an absolute nightmare.

“It was both. It was a dream come true because I was fulfilling the dream of doing this and showing something different. It’s not ‘Paul Blart’ or goofy. It’s funny but I wanted it to be real. We trained really hard, I changed my diet, I got professional trainers and fighters to work with me. It was grueling but it was worth it,” he explained.

Director Frank Coraci’s Here Comes the Boom — which also stars Salma Hayek, Henry Winkler, Greg Germann, Joe Rogan, and King of Queens co-star Gary Valentine — hits theaters in the United States on October 12. The trailer for the film has been embedded below.

What do you think about Kevin James’ weight loss?