AceShowbiz - Bill Skarsgard didn't just step into the shoes of Eric Draven, the supernatural antihero The Crow; he threw himself into a grueling diet and workout regime to do the character justice.

Having just finished filming "Boy Kills World," where he portrayed a brutal, mute fighter, Skarsgard was already loaded with muscle mass. Keeping up with a protein-packed, restricted diet and consistent gym visits, he was ready to embody The Crow.

"I'd take Bill out to dinner. I'd always just order for him because I knew what he was eating," director, Rupert Sanders, mentioned at the New York premiere. "It's basically steak tartare and raw eggs. He was in the gym a lot. He ate very healthily and put us all to shame when we were eating burgers and hot dogs and working late at night in the Czech summer."

In Lionsgate's reboot of the cult classic 1994 movie starring the late Brandon Lee, Skarsgard plays Eric Draven, who seeks vengeance after he and his girlfriend Shelly (played by FKA Twigs) are murdered and he's resurrected by a mystical crow. One of the high points of his transformation is revealed in a scene where Skarsgard's Crow infiltrates an opera house, taking down henchmen to reach his target.

"There was a lot of complex stunt work, and Bill did so much of it himself," Sanders revealed. "As you can see, he's an incredibly physical person. His body in the movie is incredible. When he's on, he's a real machine of destruction, but also he played these incredible moments of softness and empathy, which really just give the action sequences a lot more of an emotional connection."

Skarsgard's dedication extended beyond the physical. "I'd already been training for quite a while. Me and my trainer kept adding a little bit of weight, but I didn't want to be too big either. It was a tricky one, because they wanted the Crow to be ripped, but the character Eric shouldn't be," he explained. His meticulous training ensured he struck a balance between the enhanced physicality of The Crow and the more relatable appearance of Eric.

The commitment didn't go unrewarded: once the filming wrapped, Skarsgard celebrated with a well-deserved beer. "I really loved what I was eating, so I didn't feel like I had to cheat. I didn't eat sugar, but I'm not a big sweet guy. I guess my biggest cheat would be an alcoholic beer."

Meanwhile, FKA Twigs, who plays Shelly, had a contrastive preparation method. "I didn't do any of the stunts, so I went raving in Prague and kind of just immersed myself in the subcultures of Prague for my physical training," she shared.

The collective dedication to their craft from Skarsgard and Twigs promises to bring an engaging and multifaceted portrayal to the timeless tale of "The Crow."