Greta Lee is known for her powerhouse emotional performances in films like Past Lives and shows like Russian Doll and The Morning Show. However, now the actress is dipping her toe into something new by starring in the blockbuster action film Tron: Ares. The movie required a lot more from her physically than she’d experienced in the past, meaning it was time to get a trainer. Now, the Emmy nominee is opening up about her crazy training ritual, working with a Marvel trainer, consulting Brie Larson and how hard work paid off big time.
In a recent interview on LIVE with Kelly and Mark, Lee chatted with the titular co-hosts about what separated her new movie from acting ventures in the past, and different skills she had to acquire, like riding a motorcycle and running for long stretches. She found starring in the highly anticipated film on the 2025 movie schedule pretty daunting, considering she had never done anything remotely similar to this, and wasn’t quite in “Tom Cruise” shape yet. She said:
I mean I feel very much like a normal person, I have two kids in my forties. I can’t even drive stick. So when they told me, I had a lot of googling I had to do. How to ride a motorcycle, how to run like Tom Cruise, right?
After getting a trainer, however, there wasn’t much Lee couldn’t do. Disney brought out all the stops for the Tron: Ares cast, and set Lee up with the same trainer who trained a lot of the actors for the Marvel movies to get them in superhero shape. The actress chatted with Brie Larson, who notably got into incredible shape for Captain Marvel, as well, and eventually got into this kind of shape herself. She said:
I had to [get a trainer]. I dunno, you guys will have to tell me [how I did]. They gave me THE guy, this guy his name’s Duffy, he trains all the Chrises. Do you know him? All the Chrises, you [Kelly], and like Brad Pitt, and then me. I had to start from zero. I was like texting Brie Larson, and watching her videos of like the one-armed pull-up and and really freaking out. But the big irony is we realized none of our hard work – I had six-pack abs for the first time in my life –thank you. You never see them.
Lee wears a biker suit for the majority of the film’s runtime, so despite her being in the best shape of her life, there wasn’t exactly an opportunity to show off her new physique. The hard work still paid off, as the House of Dynamite star was able to carry out some of the stunts in fight sequences and was able to run intensely for long stretches. However, Lee still wishes there was a scene in Tron: Ares where you could see her abs. She joked:
Could we get a fight scene where we tear each others’ clothes off? We worked so hard, and you can’t see any of it.
I totally get it. If I were an actress in the best shape of my life for an action film, I’d want to show off a little bit, too. All the superhero movies give their actors an opportunity to show off their shredded abs, like Chris Pratt in Guardians of the Galaxy and Henry Cavill in Man of Steel. I think Lee should’ve had her moment as well, and not just have to tell us about it. Hopefully, Tron: Ares gets a sequel, and Lee can have her flexing moment in the near future.
You can see the Golden Globe nominee in Tron: Ares, which is currently in theaters nationwide. Fans of the Tron world can also revisit its predecessors, Tron and Tron: Legacy, with a Disney+ subscription. Additionally, you can check out Greta Lee in Kathryn Bigelow’s A House of Dynamite, which will be available with a Netflix subscription on October 24.
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