Jameela Jamil and her boyfriend once missed a train because he was laughing so hard at her “pathetic” attempts at running.
The 36-year-old actress stars as Titania in upcoming Disney+ series ‘She-Hulk: Attorney At Law’ but admitted she had previously avoided auditioning for Marvel projects because she felt so self-conscious about the way she moves at speed, so it took the intervention of lead director Kat Coiro to “convince” her to try-out.
She said: “Originally, I avoided Marvel auditions because I look quite pathetic when I run.
“A boyfriend of mine and I once missed a Eurostar because he’d stopped to laugh so much at my run. And so it made me feel very self-conscious.
“Kat called me directly to try to convince me because I had missed both rounds of the auditions for any part and I’d just hidden like a coward.
However, Jameela admitted Kat “lied” to her and told her she wouldn’t have to get involved in anything physical.
She added to Total Film magazine: “She totally lied about the role – there’ll be no action.”
But with a series of the show under her belt, Jameela thinks her run is now slightly “less embarrassing” and she’s now in better shape than ever.
She said: “My run is vaguely less embarrassing [now].
“I had to learn jiu-jitsu and martial arts. And I had to learn how to also do that sometimes in the air, which was really fun. I got to learn how to use a harness.
“I am honestly the world’s most epic couch potato. Such a Brit. Built like a flump!
“But it was insane. I became very strong and muscular for a while.”
The ‘Good Place’ actress previously claimed she pulled out of a “giant action movie” because she didn’t want to run.
She said: "I want to do the 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 giant action movie last year because I didn't want to run.
"I have no business being in an action role--I know my limits. There's another Asian out there I'm making space for, and she can come in and do that. She can run.
