What doesn't kill you makes you stronger, and Miles Teller is living proof.

The actor, who recently recalled being nearly killed in a 2007 car accident, worked his way into real fighting shape for new film Bleed for This, in which he plays champion Vinny ‘The Pazmanian Devil’ Pazienza. And in a new interview with NMEhe said getting a boxer's physique has been no easy feat.

"When I met the nutritionist I was 188 pounds and 19 percent body fat,” he said. “I’d been doing comedies so I was in ‘funny friend’ shape. By the time we filmed I was 168 pounds and 6 percent body fat — a big transformation. What you hear is true: you can’t eat anything you want!"

So how did he do it? Teller explained it was all about finding the proper trainer and committing to tough routines.

"I hooked up with Darrell Foster in LA — he trained five-weight world champ Sugar Ray Leonard for 18 years and worked with Will Smith on the Ali movie. Will called him ‘a master in the art of boxing’ so I knew I was learning from the best."

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