The ever-expanding actor was hiding out from Hollywood in Sydney, Australia — but the industry already knows that the 53-year-old star has gotten as bloated as a beach ball! “Russell looks like he’s 270 pounds!” estimated an eyewitness. “He has a history of gaining and losing weight for movies, but he just can’t seem to get rid of the extra pounds this time.”
The star went through punishing fitness regimens for films like “Gladiator” and “Cinderella Man,” but gained 63 pounds for 2008’s “Body of Lies.” By August 2015 —
while filming “The Nice Guys” — Russell admitted: “I was 268 pounds!” That was after the actor shed at least 50 pounds in just weeks for his role as Superman’s father, Jor-El, in "Man of Steel."
Now doctors warn Russell that his in-and-out waistline puts him at higher risk for deadly diseases and wrecking his metabolism. “Yo-yo dieting increases the risk for heart disease, cancer, diabetes, high blood pressure and many other illnesses,” New York internist Dr. Stuart Fischer told The ENQUIRER — adding: “It also stunts the metabolism permanently, making it harder to lose the extra pounds!”
“At my age,” Russell has confessed, “I have to watch everything I eat. If not, all hell breaks loose!” And maybe that flirting is also inspiring to the actor — with eyewitnesses reporting that Russell followed up his haircut with a trip to the gym!