There are two times I can remember seeing an actor suddenly get really buff in short fashion indicating, to me at least, likely steroid abuse. Did I say likely? Let me change that to obvious and blatently shameful.
I’m wondering if the same two pop to your mind.
One - Charlie Sheen in Hot Shots Part Deux. Gimme a freakin’ break Chuck. Always slight, small and in “timid” roles, suddenly he’s ripped and buff. Heh, as always Charlie, your part was laughable. After the movie he shrunk to fit.
Two - Bronson “Balkie” Pinchot was for years of medium build throught his early sitcoms and Beverly Hills Cop parts but I saw him in a show later and he’d gotton absolutely huge! Huge to the point of overly bulked up and completely unnatural looking.
Anybody else notice this and can you think of other examples of steroids on celluloid?
How about Ed Norton in American History X? He was ripped in that movie. Don’t even mention his “dunking” during the hoops games either. Hello 7 foot rims!
I haven’t seen the 2 you mention, though. I don’t know if it’s roids or just extreme working out. I could probably bulk up in a hurry too, if I had nothing else to do and access to a trainer and nutritionist full time.
Slyvester Stallone. I remember reading something about Demolition man. He got injured or something and couldn’t work out for a month or two. He lost an amazing amount of weight IIRC, 20 lbs or so.
While I imagine steroids have come into play in certain situations, I imagine it’s a lot easier for random out of shape actor to become stunningly buff actor for a role.
The reason? It’s their job. If they take a role or want to angle for roles that require sweaty, heaving manliness they have teh time, cash, and opportunity to hire great trainers, use great equipment, and devote focused time to working out to achieve their goal.
Eddie Murphy, too. He was such a skinney litle runt on SNL. Then, in several movies, he looks fairly buff. A growth spurt? In a man in his late 20’s? Or did he let Joe Pip become his personal trainer?
Carl Weathers, too. Naturally a big guy, but look at the diff in Force 10 From Navarone and Predator.
I think it has a lot more to do with costumes than you might think. It’s possible that Bronson Pinchot was buff during his Perfect Strangers days, but the role didn’t call for it so they didn’t dress him to show it off.
Also, it may seem to you that an actor has bulked up in just the few months since their last film came out, but remember that movies can be filmed and released at two completely different times. He may have had an entire year to bulk up since making the movie that you saw two months ago.
I have heard that there is a new drug craze among young Hollywood actors, but I can’t recall the name of the drug. It’s some sort of growth hormone. It doesn’t increase muscle mass so much as it increases leanness. I read in a magazine that if an actor’s body seems just a little to perfect to be true, he is probably on this stuff. Anyone know what it’s called?
Charlie Sheen steroid use denied – he made the cover of a few muscle mags when he did Hot Shots II because he did it “naturally” (or so they claimed). He had one hell of a personal trainer, and here were a few articles dedicated to his body building regimen. The catch was that he could not possibly maintain the musculature he built. If he did nothing but spend all his time working out he could stay big. The slightest lapse in his regimen and he would start turning back into a <Hans 'n Frans> puny girly-man </H & F>.
Joe Piscopo steroid use is doubtful – "Many people do not realize that Joe’s determination to beat thyroid cancer was the motivating force behind his decision to start a physical fitness routine that included body building. This decision, in turn, led to his appearances in television commercials promoting body building and to the establishment of Jersey Joe Gyms, a not-for-profit program that promotes physical fitness, self- respect, and positive role models for neighborhood kids. " (from the-thyroid-society.org)
[disclaimer] I have no idea wht I’m talking about [/disclaimer]
Never underestimate what several million dollars, endless freetime and a cadre of top-notch personal trainers can accomplish. Even on something like creatine you can gain 10-15 pounds in (water) weight. For a twig like Ed Norton, that make a big difference.