Jack Whitehall’s powerful response to being told to go to the gym

Jack Whitehall has claimed that he was given “stern” words by his agent about his figure after he undressed for a forthcoming film role.

The actor, 33, told the Manatomy podcast: “I’m very willing to get naked for a laugh, and make myself look quite vulgar. I’m not ashamed of my body. It’s funny to shove yourself down into the dirt and humiliate yourself for a laugh.”

He added: “I watched the first cut of a movie I did this year, and there’s a sequence where I’m stripped and my clothes are ripped from me.

“My agent said, ‘The movie’s great – but you have really got to hit the gym. To be a really successful actor in this town, you’ve got to hit the gym.’”

Whitehall continued: “He had been watching through gritted teeth thinking, ‘Oh my God, why does my client look like that? Why is he so unashamedly willing to present that body to the world?’

“It hadn’t crossed my mind. I’d watched my pallid, flappy body lolloping around and thought, ‘Yeah that’s funny.’”

The comic, who was recently interviewed in The Independent, can next be seen in the romantic comedy Silent Retreat and the sci-fi movie Robots.

The Manatomy podcast, hosted by Danny Wallace and Phil Hilton, invites male celebrities to talk honestly about their bodies.