Cop a gander of Aaron Pierre!

The actor sends pulses racing for Men’s Health.

Hot on the promotional trail for his newest movie, Rebel Ridge (streaming now on Netflix), the 30-year-old’s feature arrives ahead of ‘Mufasa: The Lion King,’ in which he plays the titular role.

Head below for more, including word from Pierre about how he prepared for the physical demands of his performance in ‘Rebel Ridge.’

On The Intense Training for ‘Rebel Eidge’:

“I don’t think there was one day where I didn’t have a bruise or a graze or a cut, but I loved it. While I’m fortunate to be able to use my body in the way I am today, I love and relish opportunities to fully embrace and immerse myself in stunts and choreography. I want to utilize this time in my life so I don’t have any regrets later on in my journey about things I wish I’d done that I didn’t do.”

On Being Part of Progressing the Images of Diversity:

“One of the reasons I was so thankful to Clement Virgo for casting me, a 6’3” and framed-as-I-am man, as a high school student in Brother, for example, was because within our community, many of our young men are 6’3”-plus before they even reach adulthood. Sometimes the world engages with them in an inappropriate way based on that.

My younger brother is 10 years younger than me; he’s about 6’4”—take a quarter of me, add it onto me, and that’s him. And he’s been that size since he was in high school, you know? I was so grateful to have the opportunity to play a high school student for that reason; it was a privilege to play a character so nuanced and dynamic.”

Your thoughts?

[Photo Credit: Men’s Health / Peyton Fulford]