Charles Melton Reveals His Diet to Gain 40 Pounds for May December Role

Charles Melton discussed the delicious delights he used to gain weight for his role in Netflix’s May December, in which he co-starred with Julianne Moore and Natalie Portman.

The May December star recently revealed how he gained 40 pounds for his part as Joe Yoo in the Netflix smash.

“I ate a lot of favorite childhood snacks like Gushers, Fruit Roll-Ups, ice cream, and pizza with popcorn on it,” the 33-year-old told W magazine in a January 3 piece. “It was great.”

Why did he choose food like those included in a lunch box? The actor seemed to have believed it felt natural for the role.

“Joe has this softness to him,” the actor continued. “The director, Todd Haynes, and I talked about what Joe would feel like, and it gave me an open opportunity to eat whatever I wanted.”

The nature of the Joe character, whose relationship with Gracie Atherton-Yoo (Julianne Moore) becomes the focus of a tabloid frenzy due to their age disparity and contentious origins, may inspire a tween diet.

May December follows the fictional couple 20 years after they begin an affair when Joe is 13 and Gracie is 36. The film begins with Natalie Portman’s character, Elizabeth Berry, paying a visit to the family after Gracie has done a jail sentence; they are married with three grown children, and Elizabeth is studying the couple for an upcoming film part.

Despite sharing the screen with award-winning actresses Moore and Portman, Melton, whose only major part before to this was in the Archie Comics-inspired soap, held his own as the groomed 36-year-old character.

For his May December performance, the Alaska native got great accolades. In fact, the Riverdale star has already received a Gotham Award and nominations for the forthcoming Critics’ Choice Awards and Golden Globes for his new work.