In ‘The Legend of Hercules’, Kellan Lutz stars as the mythical Greek hero, half-man, half-god, blessed with extraordinary strength.

Betrayed and sold into slavery by his stepfather the king, Hercules embarks on a legendary odyssey to overthrow the monarch and restore peace to the land.

Former Calvin Klein underwear model Kellan Lutz, who shot to fame in the ‘Twilight’ saga, said he was made for the role: “When Hercules came around, I was like ‘This is me’.”

“I had so much passion for it. I had already read ‘The Iliad’ and ‘The Odyssey’ and tons of books when I was younger. In high school you have to read those books, I already knew all that stuff. It’s all very fascinating, so meeting with Renny (Harlin, the film’s director), he saw the fire in my eyes for the character, it was a bit of a no-brainer. We both just loved each other, working together, and we are excited for the ride to share that equal passion for it,” he added.

The director he spoke of is Finnish filmmaker Renny Harlin, best known for movies like ‘Die Hard 2’ and ‘Cliffhanger’. He wanted Lutz to shape up for the movie.

“Well there wasn’t much time to get in shape before I started shooting. It’s not like I could start one size and then gain weight to be another size, three months later. So not a lot of rehearsal time, not a lot of prep time. I’m an active guy, it’s more my lifestyle. Renny just wanted me to trim up, so I adopted the Paleo diet which helped me shred up a little bit, it’s high-protein, good foods for your body,” explained Lutz.

If you are looking for some musclebound sword and sandal action, ‘The Legend of Hercules’ is the movie for you. It is on release now.