Denzel Washington 'Wasting Away' As He's Obsessed With 'Regaining Youthful Figure' After Appearing in Muscle-Bound Epic 'Gladiator II'
Denzel Washington is at the center of health fears over his brutal diet and workout regime.
Dec. 12 2024, Published 8:00 a.m. ET
Action star Denzel Washington has dropped more than 30lbs of flab in the blink of an eye, and sources said his friends fear the aging, two-time Oscar winner is wasting away in a desperate bid to regain the hunky looks he had in his youth.
RadarOnline.com can reveal the 6-foot-1 star, who hits his milestone 70th birthday December 28, packed on 35 pounds by gorging on cake and milkshakes to play a pot-bellied sheriff in the 2021 film The Little Things and the flab stuck, said a pal.
Washington shed 30lbs so fast it left his inner circle gripped with worries over his physical condition.
"Denzel found that at his age, his metabolism has slowed, and those pounds stuck around for like forever", said the friend.
"But he seems to have melted it away overnight and he's not tell- ing how he did it."
Spurring the quick pounds-plunge was vanity, said the friend, adding that the Glory actor wants to look dashing this spring when he stars on Broadway in Shakespeare's noir-romance play Othello, about a jealous Moor warrior who believes his young wife has cheated on him.
"Doing movies, you can use the trick of the cameras for how you look, but on a live stage, it's all laid bare," said the buddy.
At nearly 70, Washington is said to be more focused than ever on slims down to regain his iconic leading-man looks.
"Denzel has an actor's ego and he couldn't stand the thought of people looking at him like he's a fat old man when they come to see him!"
Still, noted New York diet doctor Stuart Fischer warned Washington could be playing a dangerous game with his health by losing weight so rapidly.
"Roller-coaster dieting is simply not good for the human body, and neither is using quick-fix weight loss treatments", noted Dr. Fischer, who has not treated Washington.
Washington’s rapid weight loss could continue until he thinks he looks as slim as he did in his 20s.
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"On the face of it, Denzel did well by dropping the pounds, but he has to be careful going forward on how he maintains healthy weight."
But a source believed ego is behind the weight loss: "He wants the attention as the handsome leading man he's been for the past 35 years!”
