Nick Jonas' weight gain earns him a new name

Singer Nick Jonas' brothers called him the Hulk when he gained weight for his role as a mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter in the new drama "Kingdom".

The 21-year-old put on extra weight for his MMA fighter role and he says his siblings Kevin, 26, Joe, 24, and Frankie, 13, kept comparing him to the green fictional superhero, reports contactsmusic.com.

Nick has now lost over half the weight he gained for the part, but is still working out a few times a week.

"I gained about 15 pounds of muscle for the role. I really wanted to look like an animal who internalises a lot, but when he's in the cage and he's fighting that's when you see this kind of animalistic mentality that he has," Nick said.

"(My brothers) were calling me the Hulk and they were poking fun at me a little bit," he said.

Nick, who was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes nine years ago, has now realised the importance of nutrition.

"I really got into living a really healthy lifestyle and physical fitness last year. I saw pretty quickly how it improved my health and the diabetes. I've stuck with it," he said.