{"id":1236398100,"date":"2025-10-21T11:15:00","date_gmt":"2025-10-21T18:15:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hollywoodreporter.com\/?p=1236398100"},"modified":"2025-10-21T12:00:21","modified_gmt":"2025-10-21T19:00:21","slug":"jason-clarke-feature-alex-murdaugh-the-last-frontier","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hollywoodreporter.com\/tv\/tv-features\/jason-clarke-feature-alex-murdaugh-the-last-frontier-1236398100\/","title":{"rendered":"Jason Clarke\u2019s Body Could Use a Break"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\t\t\t\t
\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\tJason Clarke is having a moment<\/em>. Within a two-week span, he\u2019ll star in Apple TV thriller<\/a> series The Last Frontier<\/a><\/em> (premiered Oct. 10), Hulu drama<\/a> Murdaugh: Death in the Family<\/a><\/em> (Oct. 15) and reunite with his Zero Dark Thirty<\/em> director Kathryn Bigelow for her big Netflix film, A House of Dynamite<\/a><\/em>, which hit select theaters on Oct. 10 and will debut on Netflix on Oct. 24.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\tWhat does this packed streaming schedule mean for Clarke? Mainly, he has to do a shitload of press \u2014 sorry Bo, add The Hollywood Reporter<\/em> to that list.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\tIt is the Murdaugh drama, the one in which the \u201cBo\u201d term of endearment is used liberally, for which Clarke is doing most of these interviews. The Erin Lee Carr\/Michael D. Fuller-created scripted series is a prestige-TV awards play, and Clarke \u2014 and his body \u2014 have earned your consideration. Clarke put on 40 pounds the hard way to play disbarred South Carolina attorney and convicted murderer Alex Murdaugh.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\t\u201cI remember going to dinners with him when we were in prep, and he just was just housing everything,\u201d Fuller told The Hollywood Reporter<\/em>. \u201cHe’s like, \u201cOrder some more of that,\u201d or \u201cOrder some more of that<\/em>,\u201d you know? And like, \u201cDoes anybody want dessert?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\t\u201cI wore tracksuit pants for six months,\u201d Clarke told THR<\/em>. \u201cNothing else fit.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\tThe tracksuits masked (some of) the weight but not the fatigue, poor circulation and back pain. It was \u201cunbearable,\u201d Clarke said. \u201cYour body can\u2019t deal with it. You just kind of panic.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\tIt was all so uncomfortable, Clarke didn\u2019t want to go out in public. The dyed-red eyebrows didn\u2019t help.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\t\u201cTo watch Jason put on that hair every day, to do the makeup and the skin and everything \u2014 you look at the man and he\u2019s almost, to me, unrecognizable,\u201d Carr said. \u201cSo there would be some days where I was like, \u2018My days are really hard.\u2019 And then I look at him, and I was like, \u2018Wooo! Alright, [at least] I\u2019m not having to eat banana splits four times a day.\u2019 Because you think you like it [until the second one].\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\tClarke says he has since lost about 38 of those pounds \u2014 by the time this story publishes, perhaps more \u2014 by, primarily, \u201cnot eating much.\u201d Like pretty much every weight loss journey, diet and exercise go hand in hand. That\u2019s true here too, though Clarke says his doctor still doesn\u2019t want him doing much cardio. The weight comes off before the cholesterol comes down.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\t“You destroy your metabolism,\u201d Clarke said. \u201cI\u2019d finished The Last Frontier<\/em> and I was in great shape. I had to destroy it. It was horrible.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\tYou\u2019d need to be in great shape to do The Last Frontier<\/em>, which is basically Con Air<\/em> set in the Alaskan wilderness. And maybe a little crazy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\t\u201cJason\u2019s a lunatic!\u201d the series\u2019 co-creator Jon Bokenkamp told THR<\/em>. \u201cRiding horses, crashing snowmobiles, driving dogsleds on the side of a mountain \u2026 the guy\u2019s a trooper and up for anything.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\tIt was a different kind of beating on the body.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\t\u201cHe took plenty of bruises during the action scenes but never once complained,\u201d fellow co-creator Richard D\u2019Ovidio told THR<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\tWell maybe he did a little bit<\/em> when we spoke.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\t“Of course there\u2019s injuries, dude!\u201d Clarke said when I asked. \u201cThe shit hurts.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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\n\t\n\t\t\t\t\tJason Clarke in The Last Frontier<\/em>.<\/span>\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tApple TV+<\/cite>\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t<\/figcaption>\n\n\t\t\t\n<\/figure>\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n\n\tThe shit\u2019s also appreciated by his fellow producers. (Oh yeah: Clarke also produces The Last Frontier<\/em> and executive produces Murdaugh<\/em>.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\t\u201cWhen he\u2019s not throwing himself into the physical side of the job, he\u2019s just a damned good actor and an incredible partner,\u201d Bokenkamp added. \u201cJason wants everyone to succeed, which means there\u2019s no room for drama. If we have an issue, we confront it head on, in scripts, on set, behind the scenes. That kind of no-nonsense mentality cuts right through all the nonsense and puts the focus on the work. I couldn\u2019t have asked for a better partner.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\tJon, Richard is right there<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\t\u201cJason reminds me of those powerhouse actors from the 70s \u2014 guys like James Caan, Robert Duvall and Gene Hackman,\u201d D\u2019Ovidio said. \u201cIt was hard to find a note to give him, not because he wouldn\u2019t take it, but because from the moment he stepped on set, he was Frank Remnick.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Clarke crashed snowmobiles for \u2018The Last Frontier\u2019 and packed on 40 pounds to play Alex Murdaugh. 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