Resident Evil Star Austin Abrams Had Security Called on Him While Filming Whalefall

Ever wonder what it takes to play a diver swallowed by a whale? For Austin Abrams, it meant walking around in full scuba gear until security got called on him. Yep, you read that right.

In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Abrams explained that while filming the new horror thriller Whalefall, he committed so hard to the role of diver Jay Gardiner that he wore his scuba suit around his neighborhood to get used to the weight. When asked if he got funny looks, Abrams said, "I can't remember if there were any funny looks or not. But there's a point where Jay gets visibly more distressed and blown-up looking. I remember walking around the lot during that time and having security called on me just because I looked so fucked up."

But the scuba suit was just one part of his transformation. Abrams has had to fluctuate his weight dramatically for various roles. While waiting for Zach Cregger's 2025 horror movie Weapons to start filming, he maintained a very low weight to play drug addict James. He kept that weight for a long time while Cregger had to recast Weapons due to delays. Abrams was the only actor to stick with the project, actively passing up other opportunities during that time.

Then he had to get into sporty shape to play diver Jay in Whalefall, before putting on weight to play Bryan in Cregger's Resident Evil movie. "I wanted Bryan to be a dude you look at and think he won't be able to get out of this," Abrams said. "I didn't want him to look like someone who runs laps in his free time or something like that. So it was a close period of time, but there wasn't really any science to it. You just do whatever you can to get where you need to go."

Much like Resident Evil, Whalefall puts Abrams' protagonist in a life-threatening situation. But rather than fighting off zombies like Bryan, Jay is swallowed whole by a massive whale. Talk about a different kind of horror.

Whalefall is out in cinemas now. Will you be checking it out? What do you think about actors going to such extreme lengths for a role? Let us know in the comments!