Jameela Jameel and her boyfriend once missed a train because he was laughing hard at her “pathetic” attempts to run.
The 36-year-old actress stars as Titania in the upcoming Disney+ series She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, but admits she previously avoided auditioning for Marvel projects because of the way she moves. She feels very self-conscious about him, so it took the intervention of lead director Kat Coiro to “convince” her to try it.
She said: “Basically, I avoided Marvel auditions because I look pretty pathetic when I run.
“A boyfriend of mine and I once missed a Eurostar because he’d stop laughing at my running. And so it made me feel very self-conscious.
“Kat called me straight to try to convince me because I missed both rounds of auditions for any part and I went into hiding like a coward.
However, Jameela admitted that Kat “lyed” to her and said that she would not have to engage in any physical activity.
She added to Total Film magazine: “She completely lied about the role – there will be no action.”
But with a series of shows under her belt, Jameela feels her run is a little “less embarrassing” now and she’s in better shape than ever.
She said: “My run is a little less embarrassing [now],
“I had to learn jiu-jitsu and martial arts. And I had to learn how to do that in the air sometimes, which was really fun. I had to learn to use the harness.
“I’m honestly the world’s most epic couch potato. Such a Brit. Made like a lunatic!”
“But it was crazy. I got pretty strong and muscular for a while.”
The “Good Place” actress had earlier claimed that she pulled out of a “huge action movie” because she didn’t want to run.
She said: “I want to do things I’ve never seen South Asians do. But I don’t want to be a superhero, because I hate running. I pulled out of a huge action movie last year because I didn’t Do want to run.
“I have no business in an action role – I know my limits. There’s another Asian I’m making room for, and she can come in and do that. She can run.”