Emily Bett Rickards put a considerable amount of effort into her performance as Mildred Burke in Queen of the Ring.
WrestleZone Managing Editor Bill Pritchard spoke with Rickards to promote the digital release of Queen of the Ring. Rickards headlines the film as Burke, the three-time women’s champion who broke barriers as a female wrestler in the early 20th century. She previously shared her “body goals” for the film, telling Michael Rosenbaum on Inside of You that Michael B. Jordan was one of her inspirations.
She also told Entertainment Weekly that her strict workout regimen included a wheelbarrow full of weights and chicken breasts. When speaking with WrestleZone, she clarified that this wasn’t just an off-the-cuff remark, and that she would eat chicken and lift weights to get an extra workout in before filming in-ring scenes.
Emily Bett Rickards got her pump on for Queen of the Ring
“Diego Botezelli and Tom Taylor were two of my trainers, and we did a lot of weights. After I put on the muscle, those were really important to kind of ‘bring to set.’ And those muscles took a lot of protein. So, the chicken would follow me because the muscle was taking up a lot of my energy. So, I was eating a lot more. That’s just basic nutrition,” she explained. “And the weights that would follow me were kind of before each take. Because Mildred was always showing her arms and stuff. And when you put muscles to the arms, you get the quote-unquote ‘pump.’
“For a visual, the muscle is there, but it also just brings blood to the surface and the camera can pick that up. So, that was [challenging]. If I ever need to be jacked again, I’m sure I’ll continue the wheelbarrow of chicken breast and weights,” she said with a laugh.
Rickards said a lot of her routine was math and following data. She credited Botezelli for making it such an easy process for her. “I didn’t have to think or stress or whatever, I just had to follow and trust the process.”
Once she wrapped and got sick of chicken, did she have a go-to cheat meal?
“I’m not really a sugar person, but I’m a fat-driven person. And so, I just went deep into like almond butter and avocado, and olive oil. I could have a little bit of fat, but you know, when you want to eat like a cookie. Oh man…”
Queen of the Ring is available to buy or rent on digital video on demand services, including Amazon Prime, now. Check out our full interview with Emily Bett Rickards below:
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