Cooper Wears Padded Trunks For Mamma Mia

British actor DOMINIC COOPER insisted he be given a padded pair of swimming trunks to wear in new movie musical MAMMA MIA! - to ensure every part of his body looks good on screen.

The 30-year-old stars alongside Meryl Streep, Pierce Brosnan and Colin Firth in the big-screen adaptation - and spends most of his screen time half-naked.

He admits he felt pressured into hitting the gym to achieve the muscular body he boasts in the film, because he was always surrounded by dancers who would be working out whenever they were not shooting.

He says, "I'm keeping the body up, now that I've actually got it. It wasn't just for the part, it was the fact that there were about 30 dancers around me every day constantly doing press-ups and lifts made me think, I better sort this out. And the thought that I was going to spend the entire movie in a pair of Speedos, I thought I'd better make sure I don't look like a potato...!"

And he confesses to getting a little extra boost in the swimwear department: "This was a padded, armoured, ultra-colourful Speedo unit. So when that's freeze-framed on the DVD..."

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