As Will Poulter closes one chapter in his career, another begins.
The 28-year-old actor's time as Billy Cutler will officially come to an end when the eighth and final episode of Hulu's Dopesick premieres on Wednesday, Nov. 17. Viewers of the gripping series will see if the Purdue Pharma salesman takes a leap of faith and helps in the investigation into the cause of the opioid epidemic.
But this isn't the last fans will see of Will. If anything, they can expect even more screen time from the Brit as he moves onto his role as Adam Warlock in Guardians of the Galaxy.
In an exclusive interview with E! News, Will spoke about the project, describing it as a welcome "challenge" after taking on some heavy and emotional roles in recent years, Dopesick included.
"To be completely candid with you, I really struggled with my mental health like many people did throughout the pandemic," Will shared, saying that the cast and director Danny Armstrong were "very empathetic" about his experience. "I'm very grateful to them for that."
After filming on the show wrapped, Will said he took the opportunity to spend some quality time with his family and focus on his mental and physical health, two things that he believes go hand-in-hand.
"I am a big proponent of physical exercise and the natural endorphins that come from doing that as a means of improving your mental health," he explained.
In the process, he began his transformation into Adam Warlock, a casting announcement that had Marvel fans positively buzzing. At the time, one Twitter user wrote, "Holy moly. It *is* true. Will Poulter got jacked."
But Will said he achieved his chiseled looks gradually, sharing that he wanted to get into shape in "a responsible way and not neglect my mental health on the journey."
The results speak for themselves, as do the tweets, but Will admitted "it can be overwhelming" to read social media posts, whether it's positive or negative. As a result, he said, "I try and maintain a kind of healthy and regulated distance from social media, because often on social media you're exposing yourself to the opinions of people that you don't know."
It's a fine line to walk, with Will saying that he tries not to base his own "value" on the opinions of strangers—but it's difficult when he wants to do justice to a character that is beloved by the Marvel fandom. As he put it, "I just want to do them proud."
Dopesick is streaming now on Hulu.