These days in Hollywood, it’s all about comic book movies, superheroes, and big-budget action flicks. And if you’re among the male actors who want to be an action star, you need that iconic hollywood physique to do it, whether it’s transforming into a hero like Jason Momoa in Aquaman, or becoming a massive, shredded federal agent like Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson in the Fast & Furious series.
Hollywood stars spend months preparing for roles, sculpting six-pack abs, ditching any excess flab, and stacking muscle all over to make audiences believe they really are superheroes. Just look at the example of David Harbour, who worked with trainer Don Saladino in the gym to transform for Hellboy.
But even though the new Hollywood is all about stars turning into heroes, getting an incredible, muscular physique for an action film isn’t anything new, not by a long shot. From former champion bodybuilder Steve Reeves, who built up his physique for the 1958 adaptation of Hercules, to Arnold Schwarzenegger getting massive for Conan the Barbarian, to Lou Ferrigno in 1983’s Hercules, there are some amazing Hollywood physiques throughout movie history.
In fact, what might be the biggest bulk up of any action movie came from Sylvester Stallone, who took things to another level after his first Rambo movie, First Blood, for the sequels Rambo II and Rambo III. Part of Stallone’s training for those movies included SWAT combat, archery training, and survivalist courses, as well as eight months of four-hour sessions, six days a week.
If you want to find out how these classic stars did it, along with more recent heroic physiques like Hugh Jackman as Wolverine and Christian Bale in American Psycho, click through our gallery. Here’s a look at the list of the top hollywood physiques on the big screen.
After serving in WWII in the Philippines and Japan, Reeves became a champion bodybuilder who won the titles of Mr. America (1947), Mr. World (1948), and Mr. Universe (1948 and 1950). Nearly a decade later, after tackling numerous stage and screen roles, he would transform into a major international movie star through the role of Hercules. Reeves created a figure sculpted in the age of healthy eating and no steroids.
Modern bodybuilder Lee Hayward noted that Reeves’ classical figure – notably the large chest with smaller waist – was developed through a regular full-body workout that incorporated three sets of 8 to 12 reps each of bench presses, barbell and dumbbell curls, squats, pullovers, and more. Reeves’ foray into cinema served as an inspiration and precedent for the likes of Arnold Schwarzenegger, Lou Ferrigno, and The Rock, all of whom would portray Hercules during their careers.
2 of 10
Sunset Boulevard / Getty
Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sandahl Bergman in Conan The Barbarian (1982)
While Schwarzenegger boasted an imposing frame throughout his career, he was in peak condition when John Milius directed him in this highly successful and influential fantasy epic. On top of being pumped up, the seven-time Mr. Olympia had a lot to learn for the film and its sequel: sword fighting, camel and horse riding, rope and rock climbing, and hand-to-hand combat. While not training four hours a day like he did as a competitive bodybuilder, Schwarzenegger trained two and a half to three hours per day for Conan, including an hour of weights, a half hour of running, and daily sword practice.
Schwarzenegger’s co-star, Sandahl Bergman, who played his fellow swordsman and lover, was also in top shape and brought a dancer’s grace to her thieving role. Bergman, who previously worked in musical theater, trained two and a half hours a day, three days a week for three months, learning kendo and sword fighting.
3 of 10
Time & Life PIctures / Getty
Lou Ferrigno in Hercules (1983)
He is most famous for having played the Incredible Hulk on television, plus winning Mr. Universe twice and appearing in the 1977 documentary Pumping Iron with Arnold Schwarzenegger, the film which helped bring him and bodybuilding to the mainstream. While he was already big as Marvel’s green goliath, Ferrigno bulked up more for the two Hercules films he made for the Italian film industry in the mid ’80s.
The famed bodybuilder says he was more cut for this role as he approached it like training for Mr. Olympia. While the low-budget Hercules was not the best vehicle to showcase his acting, you would not have wanted to tell him that. Just watch him flexing those massive pecs. He could crush you with one arm.
4 of 10
Moviestore Collection/Shutterstock
Sylvester Stallone in Rambo II and III (1985-88)
The Italian Stallion was no stranger to workouts before the original Rambo trilogy, and by the time he made the third installment, he had been boxing his heart out in four Rocky movies. As each successive Rambo movie got crazier and more violent, so, too, did Stallone’s physique grow with each installment. (Although some might argue he was bigger in II than III.)
For eight months, the actor trained three and a half hours to four hours daily for six days, at morning and at night, with heavy weights and free weights while preparing for the role. For maintaining his body after shooting he would do three days on, one day off for about 70 minutes daily. His other RamboIII training included SWAT combat, archery training and survivalist courses. The results speak for themselves – he was a beast on screen.
5 of 10
StudioCanal/Shutterstock
Linda Hamilton in Terminator 2 (1991)
When a new Terminator comes for Sarah Connor in T2, she has already gotten herself mentally and physically prepped during her psych ward incarceration. And when she lets loose and beats down two orderlies, you completely believe she can do it. When writer-director James Cameron called on Hamilton for the sequel, she did not want to be the damsel in distress from the first movie. She wanted to be crazy.
The actress worked with an Israeli special forces soldier-turned-trainer who taught her running, climbing, judo, and weaponry from a military perspective. She trained for two to three hours a day, six days a week for several months–a combination of aerobics, trampoline, free weights, and running. Even more amazing is the fact that she started training only two weeks after giving birth! The 63-year-old Hamilton has trained hard for the forthcoming Terminator movie as well, and she looks tough.
6 of 10
Trap-Two-Zero/Hollywood Pics/Kobal/Shutterstock
Demi Moore in G.I. Jane (1997)
In order for her character to prove that women were fit to serve in combat (in this case, a Navy SEAL), Moore had to get super fit herself and play the part. Her six-day-per-week training lasted three to four hours daily and included various combos of running, weightlifting, treadmill, and martial arts. She became quite adept at one-arm pushups (take that, Jack Palance), plus she shaved her head, which would have freaked many people out.
The film had a decent box office take, and while it ended her reign as a major star, Moore impressed everyone with her physical transformation at a time when female action stars were just on the rise and the issue of women in combat was a hot button topic. Female action stars are commonplace today, while the military ban on women in combat was lifted in 2015, so mission accomplished!
7 of 10
Moviestore Collection/Shutterstock
Christian Bale in American Psycho (2000)
While Bale had already made over a dozen movies before American Psycho, his turn as charming ladykiller Patrick Bateman—who is a literal killing machine outside of the office—generated a controversial buzz and fan admiration. He looked killer onscreen, too. Brett Easton Ellis’ book actually lists Bateman’s three-hour workout regimen, which includes strength training on Mondays and Fridays (including bench presses, pull ups, and curls) and strategic cardio training and abs on Wednesdays and Saturdays (including high intensity interval training on the piece of equipment of your choice, and core training).
Bale would later put that discipline to good use when bulking up for Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy, but here he did not need a batsuit to look intimidating. His gleefully psycho performance was enough.
8 of 10
Twentieth Century Fox Film/Kobal/Shutterstock
Hugh Jackman in The Wolverine (2013)
Jackman has played the adamantium-clawed X-Man seven times (plus one cameo), and he eventually developed a solid workout routine with his trainer David Kingsbury. The Aussie actor was probably his fiercest Wolvie self in the self-titled 2013 film which takes place in Japan, and he had about a half year to meet his goal, although the first couple of months were not quite as intense as he was filming another movie. Beyond eating clean and increasing his protein and calorie intake, Jackman worked with a four-week program that started with progressive overloading and included basic lifts along with established free-weight exercises, but without using any machines. With a feral game face and veins a-poppin‘, he turned Wolverine into even more of a raging warrior.
9 of 10
Moviestore/Shutterstock
Dwayne Johnson and Jason Statham in Furious 7 (2015)
Former wrestler Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and martial arts maven Jason Statham worked hard to look great…so their characters could kick each other’s butts before becoming buds. (Their spin-off bromance Hobbs & Shaw arrives this August.) Both men continue to work out regularly with their own specialized routines, and with Johnson at 46 and Statham at 51, they are proving that hard-hitting action stars have a longer shelf life than originally anticipated. Despite the fact that for F7, Johnson was 6’5”, 260 and Statham 5’10”, 180, it seemed believable that those muscles could tussle for a bit. The former had bulk, the latter had speed. Johnson even put up a fun “action science” breakdown of their F7 fight.
10 of 10
Warner Bros/DC/Kobal/Shutterstock
Jason Momoa in Aquaman (2018)
How do you turn a B-list comics character who served as a tongue-in-cheek joke in Entourage into a billion dollar box office powerhouse? You cast a muscle man with a self-aware sense of humor. Slightly buffer than his comic book version (who has grown bigger over the decades), Jason Momoa‘s Aquaman has less of an all-American look and more sex appeal. He is seriously ripped in the movie, and he went through some pretty strenuous workouts to get that way. He bulked up using the AR7 method, which can include two to three high-intensity workouts daily, and he also worked out with the Gym Jones method that includes a lot of full body compound moments. His trainers also added rock climbing into his regimen as it is an activity Momoa enjoys. The results speak for themselves. The long-locked star is even bigger than he was in Conan the Barbarian or Game Of Thrones.
