This month’s cover star, James McAvoy, is already having a big 2019, starring in M. Night Shyamalan’s latest thriller, Glass. In our story, “The Hero With a Thousand Faces,”Opens a New Window. writer Ed Caesar caught up with McAvoy to talk about what it took to transform into his character, Kevin Wendell Crumb. “I happen to like a bit of old-fashioned super-hero codswallop,” McAvoy told us.

“I was astonished when he started playing the part of what he was capable of,” Shyamalan told Men’s Journal. “The physicality, the drama, the emotion, the humor, the pathos.”

While he showed off his versatility in the role, McAvoy took his training to the next level, dedicating around five days each week with a trainer, along with upping the amount of meals he’d eat every day.

“In the third act of our movie, he has his shirt off the whole time,” Shyamalan says. “There was no way around it…. He whipped himself into shape.”

Get all these stories and more from our February issue—out this Friday, January 25.

And check back here for more behind-the-scenes videos and exclusive interviews from McAvoy’s Men’s Journal cover shoot.