Action movies often have a few requirements to make it big at the box office. First, the main character’s storyline revolves around their background as a former cop enjoying retirement. Second, due to retirement, they are adamant about not returning to that life because they have already completed their last mission – though they are often forced to return to one last mission. Finally, the protagonist is incredibly buff. While this is a general list of criteria, the physical appearance of the protagonist is vital in making their story more credible. Despite the physical appearance of an action hero, the chosen actors are contractually obligated to look a certain way.
Hollywood is notorious for its obsession with youth. Therefore, actors who are over 30 years old must have the body of a 20-something with washboard abs. Whether it’s going on extreme diets to lose weight or working closely with trainers to build muscle, many actors go through incredible physical transformations before their first day of shooting. Still, some of the actors are already chiseled or slightly muscled, so their transformation isn’t that drastic. Regardless of their exercise and diet routine, actors who choose this metamorphosis make action movies believable. Here’s a look at 10 actors who were really fans of a movie role.
10/10 Arnold Schwarzenegger – Predator
Austrian born bodybuilder turned actor turned politician, Arnold Schwarzenegger is a legend among the action movies. But before he hit Hollywood, he was in the limelight for another reason: in 1970, he won the coveted Mr. Bodybuilder title. Universe. Schwarzenegger’s win was commemorated with a competition category. Shortly after his win, he became an actor and within a few years was starring as Conan in Conan the Barbarian, which became his breakthrough role. But his role as a Dutchman in Predator was where he was more than ripped.
9/10 Dwayne Johnson-Hercules
Like Schwarzenegger, Dwayne Johnson became famous for his shredded muscles. Except he’s not Mr. Universe was, but a former World Wrestling Federation wrestler known as “The Rock.” His appeal to the audience was “Can you smell what The Rock is cooking?” Johnson even made appearances on TV shows outside of the WWF Friday fights, but that didn’t last long The mummy returns was released that the public saw Johnson showing off his acting skills. Many of his roles have his muscles as the main character, but they mostly came for him in the production of Herculeswho told the myth rather than the musical version created by Disney in the late 1990s.
8/10 Gerard Butler – 300
The late 2000s rom-com heartthrob has more action movies to his credit than he deserves. Gerald Butler often plays a Secret Service or CIA agent, but the role he became incredibly fanatical about was based on a graphic novel. The film 300 depicts the Perso-Spartan War in which the Spartan army of 300 faced King Xerxes’ army of 1 million. Pop workouts describes Butler’s routine of getting in shape for the movie. Butler even indicates in a video on the site that he was training for six hours every day for months before and during filming. That level of dedication is virtually unheard of in Hollywood.
7/10 Hugh Jackman – X-Men franchise
For 20 years and in nine films, Broadway star and actor on the silver screen Hugh Jackman has been Logan aka Wolverine. As one of the X-Men, Wolverine doesn’t play by the rules, although Jackman does, especially when training. Whether he’s playing the tough superhero or not, Jackman stays in shape thanks to his trainer, David Kingston. During his sessions, Jackman does progressive loads, which allows him to start in one place and slowly work his way up to heavier weights. Even when Jackman isn’t playing Logan, he’s physically ready to don the signature white tank and adamantium claws.
6/10 Jake Gyllenhaal — Southpaw
Jake Gyllenhaal has an incredible repertoire of films, but his role as boxer Billy Hope in Southpaw earned him a spot among the best actors. In addition to running every day, Gyllenhaal ate up to seven meals a day, essentially a meal every two hours on average. These meals were high in protein, with some shakes mixed in to keep up with the exercise he was doing on a daily basis. That said, he would get a meal from Chipotle every now and then.
5/10 Sebastian Stan – MCU
In front of Captain America: The Winter Soldieractor Sebastian Stan piled up for his character, Bucky Barnes, aka the famous assassin, the Winter Soldier. With the help of trainer Dan Saladino, Stan’s physical metamorphosis is straight out of a comic book. Stan even sits down with Saladino to discuss the importance of a trainer as an actorn this clip. Even though co-star Anthony Mackie is the bulky Captain America, Stan’s bulking up as Bucky isn’t talked about enough.
4/10 Sylvester Stallone – Rocky III
Like Schwarzenegger and Johnson, Sylvester Stallone‘s muscles often appear to him in a movie. Especially with the Rocky series, Stallone was particularly torn. But in Rock III, Stallone took his third reprisal as Rocky Balboa extra seriously. It’s possible that his co-stars Mr. T and Hulk Hogan had something to do with that ultra dose of inspiration. Stallone even shared on social media that Hogan hospitalized three people during filming Rock III.
3/10 Chris Hemsworth – MCU
Marvel fans often swear that the actors portraying their beloved comic book heroes are the closest to their characters in real life. Chris Hemsworthh, who plays Thor, is no exception. In fact, his gym routine is quite unique in that he does not use any equipment according to him Insider. Instead of lifting weights, Hemsworth relies on his own body weight to build muscle. In between gym sessions, Hemsworth also eats 3,600 calories a day while working out.
2/10 Kumail Nanjiani – Eternals
Comedian Kumail Nanjiani usually keeps his shirt on in his movies. But when Marvel called to offer him the role of Kingo, an AI god in Eternals, he added. Nanjiani stuck to a routine of heavy cardio and weightlifting to prepare for the Marvel role. While he was on a low-carb diet for most of the week, he ate carbs on weekends. Nanjiani is all about balance.
1/10 Carl Weathers – Rocky
As a former National Football League player, actor Carl Weathers was no stranger to disciplined training. To portray boxer Apollo Creed Rocky, Weathers surged into one of the biggest physical transformations in Hollywood. In addition to a strict training regimen, Weathers also adhered to a vegetarian diet during training. While many actors rely heavily on meat-based protein to gain weight, Weathers proves that muscle maintenance can be supported by vegetables and grains.