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Fans shocked at this actor’s insane body transformation

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Comedic actor Kumail Nanjiani is best known for his roles in The Big Sick and HBO’s recently-concluded Silicone Valley, but with a single Instagram share he added ‘thirst trap’ to his resume.

Related: ‘The Eternals’ trailer shows Marvel’s first gay superhero…and it’s not who we thought

A year ago, Nanjiani was cast in Marvel Studios’ The Eternals alongside Angelia Jolie, Salma Hayek, Bryan Tyree Henry, Kit Harington, and Richard Madden. He took the new gig as inspiration to transform himself, and it’s safe to say he succeeded.

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I never thought I’d be one of those people who would post a thirsty shirtless, but I’ve worked way too hard for way too long so here we are. You either die a hero, or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain. I found out a year ago I was going to be in Marvel’s Eternals and decided I wanted to transform how I looked. I would not have been able to do this if I didn’t have a full year with the best trainers and nutritionists paid for by the biggest studio in the world. I’m glad I look like this, but I also understand why I never did before. It would have been impossible without these resources and time. So big thanks to @grantrobertsfit who started working with me at the beginning of the year and made me understand true physical pain for months and months. Then, once we started shooting, a massive thanks to @davidhigginslondon and his team (@ellispartridge, @thebeardypt, @tomcheesemanfitness) for training me almost every day and making me strong, limber and injury free. I can almost touch my toes now. (And thank you for forcing me to do cheat meals David.) Matthews Street Catering for their delicious and healthy meals. And finally, the biggest thanks goes to @emilyvgordon for putting up with me complaining and talking about only working out and dieting for the last year. I promise I’ll be interesting again some day. #thirstyshirtless (Photo by @markupson.) (edit: I left off one very important person: @lancecallahan who trained me for 6 years and helped me build the foundation I could use to do this. Thank you!)

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But he’s the first to admit his new physique wasn’t acquired under normal circumstances:

“I would not have been able to do this if I didn’t have a full year with the best trainers and nutritionists paid for by the biggest studio in the world,” he wrote in the caption. “I’m glad I look like this, but I also understand why I never did before. It would have been impossible without these resources and time.”

The internet certainly took note:

And it wasn’t just Twitter followers who reacted to the pic: