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Netflix’s hit series Boots allowed star Blake Burt to go on his own personal weight loss journey in honor of his character John’s onscreen story.
“Health was the No. 1 focus,” Burt, 32, exclusively told Us Weekly while breaking down the process of his and John’s simultaneous evolutions. “Lucky for us, we had the studio backing us really heavily and they were really supportive.”
The original plan was for a “much smaller” onscreen transformation.
“But as I was reading [the scripts] and looking at John and who he was, I was like, ‘No, we have to give John true justice. We’ve got to give him a massive transformation.’ So we had our primary trainer Duke [Rousse] — with the Duke Academy out of New Orleans — who was helping with the physical transformation,” Burt recalled. “Then in between the [dual] strike period, we had Billy Eubanks here in Mississippi training me. Then we also worked with Clean Creations, who was doing all the meal prep stuff. We had a full team on this, which was great.”
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Despite obstacles along the way, Burt was committed to his character’s journey and his own goal.
“The training was pretty difficult. I started at around 320 pounds,” he explained. “From there to episode two, we go down to 289 pounds and then I go away [on screen]. We cut down to 257 pounds. From there, we go on [the SAG-AFTRA] strike right at that point. They’re like, ‘Hey, let’s hold [on the weight loss]. We don’t want to make this unrealistic and that was my personal choice as well.”
Patti Perret/Netflix © 2024He continued: “Then they’re like, ‘We might have reshoots.’ They didn’t ask me [to] but I didn’t want to wear a fat suit. John is going through boot camp so I guess I can put weight back on and lose it again. I went back from 257 back to 289 and held it for the reshoots. We find out we don’t have any reshoots as we’re getting closer and then have to cut back down to 257 pounds so it was around 124 pounds total lost — including the weight gain back and then the loss.”
Boots, which premiered in October, follows Cameron (Miles Heizer) as he joins the American military alongside his best friend Ray (Liam Oh) during the 1990s. Cameron has to hide his sexuality in the era of “don’t ask, don’t tell” while trying to make it through basic training alongside Slovacek (Kieron Moore), Hicks (Angus O’Brien), Nash (Dominic Goodman), John (Burt), Cody (Brandon Tyler Moore) and Ochoa (Johnathan Nieves).
Throughout the first season, Burt’s character quickly becomes a fan favorite as present day scenes and flashbacks reveal John’s difficult past with an abusive father and a dream of getting out of brother Cody’s shadow. John is briefly dismissed from training after sustaining an injury but he ultimately comes back with even more determination after doing the work to lose weight himself.
“I had a personal mission as well because I struggled with my weight so I’ve been through that side. As far as the mental [aspect] is concerned. I’ve been through getting picked on as a kid for my weight and having to deal with it. Mentally, I was there and I was in a pretty good head space. But luckily, I had really good cast mates too,” Burt told Us. “They saw how difficult it was because I was the biggest dude and there were days where I was down mentally. I was struggling because we were doing four or five hours of training.”
There was a specific instance where his blood sugar dropped a “little low,” Burt explained, adding that, “we were at the gym for the fourth time.”
“I had run a 5k that morning, done two-hour workouts and then I had not seen the guys in a few days,” he continued.“They were like, ‘We’re going to the gym.’ It was around 11:30 P.M when we wrapped. I didn’t hydrate properly at the end of that day and I almost passed out. [My cast members] and two of the guys that were background recruits just happened to be at the gym and they all sat with me.”
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Burt was grateful his costars — who have since become his close friends — supported him throughout the ups and downs.
“I had a little breakdown for a second. I was like, ‘I don’t know if I’m going to be able to finish this out.’ I was so close because I had a goal to get to. Luckily, they were there for me,” he noted. “iit was really a brotherhood that we formed. I was good to go [and I had] the support of the other guys in the cast, my trainer and everybody else.”
Alfonso "Pompo" Bresciani/Netflix © 2023After filming wrapped, Burt suffered a personal loss. “Right afterwards I had continued and I stayed around that weight for about four months — around the 23-pound mark. It was more of a lifestyle change for me. But my dad ended up having another massive stroke in January and he passed away. It was three weeks of me in and out of the hospital dealing with that and I ended up putting weight back on. So that was pretty tough.”
He continued: “It was hard to see progress slip away but it was a hard time in my life. That was actually the first time I gained all the weight was when my dad had a stroke back in 2019. I got really down and out and I came home to try to help my family and put on 100 pounds. I remember sitting down and praying.”
Burt pulled strength from his loved ones and the memory of his father.
“I wanted to be there for my mom, my fiance, my sister and everybody [in my family]. I knew if I didn’t take care of myself, how could I be there for other people? I finally got my head back on straight a couple months later and ended up starting to lose it again. So we’re back on track,” he shared with Us. “We’re around 242 pounds now and we’re only hovering about 20 pounds above where we ended the show, which was a good holding place for now. But as of about a few weeks ago, I’ve started really going back pretty hard. We’re gonna try to transform again and get back to where I want to be.”
The actor’s commitment to his personal wellness journey and to John’s story didn’t go unnoticed. Since Boots premiered, the show has found immense success by doubling its weekly audience and rising to No. 2 on Netflix’s TV charts.
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Burt, for his part, won Us over with his earnest portrayal of John — a character you can’t help but root for as he (literally) makes it to the finish line alongside the rest of the recruits.
“With the drive that he has now in this story and where John’s relationship stands with his brother, I obviously think he’s going to continue to better himself — physically, mentally and spiritually,” Burt noted. “As for his relationship with his brother, you hope that you can mend issues when this stuff happens. Deep down, John really hopes that he can mend things with his brother and that Cody comes back strong and that we can be together. But at the same time, John is just not going to take it anymore. He’s not going to take crap anymore.”
Boots’ success hasn’t just been limited to ratings. Within days of it being released, viewers quickly fell in love with the show and have since been campaigning for a second season, which Burt and the rest of the cast is hoping for.
“It’s been honestly incredible. I’ve done this for a long time and it’s nice to have a show that’s got such an incredible reach and it’s a show for everyone. That’s the cool part. Everybody can watch this and take something positive from it,” Burt gushed. “Especially the camaraderie, that’s applicable to everyone’s life. That was what was exciting for me, reading the reactions from fans. I was like, ‘ I’m actually going to leave here with some lifelong friends — which I did.’ But the outreach has been insane.”
Boots is currently streaming on Netflix.
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