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Chris Hemsworth's starvation diet made him weak on set

Los Angeles - Chris Hemsworth felt like he was going to "pass out" when he was shooting his new movie In the Heart of the Sea.

The 31-year-old actor was forced to follow an extremely low-calorie diet for his role as shipwrecked sailor Owen Chase in the sea-set drama and has admitted the consequences of starving himself left him feeling light-headed and unwell.

Speaking on Australia's Kyle and Jackie O Show, he said: "We felt as if we were going to pass out any second."

The handsome star - who is known for his bulging biceps and ripped abs, especially when playing superhero Thor - called on Tom Hanks to ask him for some advice on how to drop the weight following his role in 2000's Cast Away.

He explained: "We called up Tom Hanks and he gave us some advice on how to lose the weight."

Jackie 'O' Henderson asked: "So, what is the trick?"

Hemsworth replied: "Don't eat. Pretty straight-forward."

The hunk lost 33lbs (15kg) by the end of filming and he believes the starvation he experienced helped him get into character.

Jackie said: "When you're that food deprived and cranky, does it help with doing a film where you're essentially lost at sea and you wouldn't be in the best of moods?"

Hemsworth hit back: "It does. Looking back, it was essential to doing the story justice. It was based on true events which inspired Moby Dick to be written. There wasn't a lot of acting required for those last couple of weeks."

Meanwhile, earlier this week, Hemsworth uploaded a photograph of his shrunken figure on his Instagram account.

Just tried a new diet/training program called "Lost At Sea". Wouldn't recommend it.. #IntheHeartoftheSea @zocothebodypro

A photo posted by Chris Hemsworth (@chrishemsworth) on

In the Heart of the Sea - directed by Ron Howard and based on a true event that happened in 1820 - is set for release in South Africa on 1 January.

Watch the trailer here:

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