Ashton Kutcher Addresses Rumors About His Showering Habits (Exclusive)

Years after Ashton Kutcher and Mila Kunis made viral comments about their family’s bathing habits, prompting speculation that they don’t shower, the Beauty star is setting the record straight. 

While speaking to PEOPLE about how he physically prepared for his role as The Corporation on the FX body horror thriller from co-creator Ryan Murphy, the actor also addressed a 2021 interview on Dax Shepard’s Armchair Expert podcast. 

As PEOPLE previously reported, Kunis, 42, said that growing up, she “didn’t shower very much” while Kutcher, 47, added that he cleans his “armpits and my crotch daily and nothing else ever” during the couple’s appearance on the show.

“It was the craziest thing of all time,” Kutcher tells PEOPLE now. “We made a comment at one point, and people were like, ‘Does he stink? Does he smell?’ ”

Turning to his costars Anthony Ramos and Jeremy Pope, who were also present for the conversation, he explains, “There was a comment on a podcast, so long ago… and people are like, ‘They don’t shower.’ I’m like, ‘I shower, I go to the gym, I shower.’ ”

Laughing, Ramos, 34, tells PEOPLE, “I can confirm my boy showers.”

Earlier in the conversation, Kutcher shared how he got his body Speedo-ready since his character is frequently seen shirtless, usually clad in revealing swimwear throughout season 1. 

“Let’s get clear about it, I’ve been sitting in an office chair doing venture capital,” he explains. “And so, I was like, ‘Oh, my gosh. What am I gonna do?’ So I got a trainer — his name is Robbie Egan — and Robbie comes to my house at five o’clock in the morning before I start work and beats me up.” 

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After rigorous workouts with his trainer, “I got in shape,” Kutcher says, before sharing that he focused on his mug next. “I got a haircut, which I hadn’t in a while. I was like, ‘Alright, I gotta clean this thing up.’ And then I showed up to work. Luckily, we started shooting Jan. 20 last year, and I always do dry January, so I had 20 days of not drinking before, and I started to really tighten up.” 

“I went into Speedo mode,” he adds. 

When it comes to his role on the show, it marks a villainous turn for Kutcher, who most recently starred in the rom-com Your Place or Mine and the Netflix series That ’90s Show. “Ryan came to me and said, ‘Hey, I wrote this role for you. I think it’d be really interesting. I think it’s unlike anything you’ve ever done before, and I think it’s gonna be great.’ And I was like, ‘Okay, tell me more,’ ” the actor recalls.

The Corporation is described by FX as “shadowy tech billionaire who has secretly engineered a miracle drug” that transforms users into younger, more beautiful versions of themselves — and he “who will do anything to protect his trillion-dollar empire,” even “unleashing his lethal enforcer,” The Assassin (Ramos).

Calling the prolific TV producer, 60, a “master of his craft,” Kutcher says, “Ryan is one of the greatest writers on this planet, and the notion that someone’s gonna create something for you to bring to life is humbling.”

“Then, when you get in there and you actually get to embody it, it’s just a treat because he creates this linguistic craft of what the character is trying to imbue on the world and make someone else feel or think, and an architecture to how that individual is doing that,” Kutcher continues, explaining that “then, you, as an actor, have to find a way to play a juxtaposition to those words.” 

The actor says, “It’s really the most fun I think I’ve ever had playing a character.”

FX’s The Beauty premieres with three episodes on Wednesday, Jan. 21, starting at 9 p.m. ET/PT and will be available to stream on Hulu and Disney+.