# Actors who are extremely tall & muscular **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 11, 2016, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-are-extremely-tall-muscular/768205 "2016-10-11T01:57:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2016, 12:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-are-extremely-tall-muscular/768205/21 "2016-10-11T12:30:31Z")
Looking at some lists of ex-football players turned (real) actors doesn’t turn up many not mentioned that are at least 6’4". Bubba Smith: 6’7", 265. 6 _Police Academy_ movies and much more. Merlin Olsen: 6’5", 270 pounds. Very large and imposing looking but generally played gentler folk, e.g., _Little House on the Prairie/Father Murphy_. Ditto Rosey Grier: 6’5", 284. Maybe a little scarier in _The Thing with Two Heads_. One of my favorites- Ben Davidson: 6’8", 275 didn’t have too much of an acting career. But he did appear in _M_A_S_H\*, _Conan the Barbarian_ and _Behind the Green Door_ (!). ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2016, 12:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-are-extremely-tall-muscular/768205/22 "2016-10-11T12:41:13Z")
Ken Howard was 6’6" and though not overly muscular was quite athletic and in good shape as a young actor. He was the captain of the Amherst College basketball team and reportedly had offers to better basketball schools but wanted to concentrate on academics. ---
**Author:** ![TCMF-2L](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tcmf-2l/32/16553_2.png) [@TCMF-2L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TCMF-2L)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2016, 1:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-are-extremely-tall-muscular/768205/23 "2016-10-11T13:10:12Z")
Coming in at the bottom end of ‘extremely tall’ there is **Kevin Sorbo** at 6 foot 3 and a half and about 235lb. Best known for **Hercules: The Legendary Journeys** and **Andromeda** he has also appeared in plenty of B Movies, TV movies and straight to DVD including the appropriately named **Walking Tall**. TCMF-2L ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2016, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-are-extremely-tall-muscular/768205/24 "2016-10-11T13:19:48Z")
> [@](#): > > He [Andre the Giant] may have been tall and strong but let’s be honest, he was fat. A lot of his strength was due to his size. His size would have made him weak, unless he had a heck of a lot of muscle to back it up. Was he carrying more fat than was healthy? Maybe, but that’s not all he was carrying. ---
**Author:** ![bordelond](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bordelond/32/150_2.png) [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2016, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-are-extremely-tall-muscular/768205/25 "2016-10-11T13:38:27Z")
Dave Bautista (billed in MMA as 6’6", 290 lbs) played Drax in _Guardians of the Galaxy_. He’s already got about a dozen other small-role credits in the can and has [six movies in production or post-production](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dave_Bautista#Filmography) at present. ---
**Author:** ![bordelond](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bordelond/32/150_2.png) [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2016, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-are-extremely-tall-muscular/768205/26 "2016-10-11T13:44:19Z")
Very much stretching the definition of actor – though he’s got a SAG card and a half-dozen credits – is [Dalip Singh Rana](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Great_Khali#Filmography) (WWE’s the Great Khali). Billed at 7’1" and ~350 lbs, he’s the closest thing physically to Andre the Giant out there working now. ---
**Author:** ![Edward\_The\_Head](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ce73a5/32.png) [@Edward\_The\_Head](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Edward_The_Head)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2016, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-are-extremely-tall-muscular/768205/27 "2016-10-11T14:45:23Z")
[Dolph Lundgren](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dolph_Lundgren) is listed at being 6’5". ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2016, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-are-extremely-tall-muscular/768205/28 "2016-10-11T14:57:35Z")
Christopher Lee was 6’5". When he first tried to get into acting he was told he was “much too tall to be an actor”. I’m assuming he was fit, as he had been in the British armed forces. ---
**Author:** ![control-z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@control-z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/control-z)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2016, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-are-extremely-tall-muscular/768205/29 "2016-10-11T14:58:44Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > I was surprised to see that Ben Batman Affleck is also 6’4" Yes, to me Affleck is one of those guys that doesn’t seem tall but is. Conan O’Brien is another, he is also 6’4". ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2016, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-are-extremely-tall-muscular/768205/30 "2016-10-11T15:06:57Z")
> [@control-z](#): > > Yes, to me Affleck is one of those guys that doesn’t seem tall but is. Conan O’Brien is another, he is also 6’4". Not only tall, he also put on a lot of muscle for Batman. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2016, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-are-extremely-tall-muscular/768205/31 "2016-10-11T15:20:54Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > Not only tall, he also put on a lot of muscle for Batman. It’s weird that Batman is bigger than Superman. Speaking of 6’4" guys who got ripped to play a superhero this year, Alexander Skarsgård was of course showing his 8-pack abs whenever possible as Tarzan. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2016, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-are-extremely-tall-muscular/768205/32 "2016-10-11T15:28:15Z")
Three actors who are taller than many people realize: Tyler Perry, Tim Robbins, and Vince Vaughn are all 6’5". ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2016, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-are-extremely-tall-muscular/768205/33 "2016-10-11T15:29:21Z")
Yes, but are any of those three particularly muscular? ---
**Author:** ![psiekier](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psiekier/32/116_2.png) [@psiekier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psiekier)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2016, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-are-extremely-tall-muscular/768205/34 "2016-10-11T20:33:54Z")
> [@Jim\_s\_Son](#): > > If you want athlete with a brief acting job, Wilt Chamberlain was 7’1" and eventually around 300 pounds but all accounts have him as extremely strong. Of course he costarred with Ah-nold in “Conan the Destroyer”. Don’t forget Shaquille O’Neal. He was in _Steel_ and _Kazaam_, is 7’1", and weighs about 325 pounds. It must take a lot to move like he does! I still enjoy seeing him on TV whenever he shows up, even if it’s just commercials for some pain relievers. You know the man must have a lot of personal charisma despite how much they make fun of him on SNL. > [@Chronos](#): > > His size would have made him weak, unless he had a heck of a lot of muscle to back it up. Was he carrying more fat than was healthy? Maybe, but that’s not all he was carrying. Andre had a lot of back problems that were complicated by what he endured in the professional wrestling circuit, and was frequently in a great deal of pain. If you read _As You Wish_, where Cary Elwes goes through the making of _The Princess Bride_, he notes just how prodigious Andre’s appetite not only for food was, but for alcohol. Having enough beer and wine to ease the pain in his back was daily reprieve for him. I was thinking of Robert Maillet, Canadian actor and former professional wrestler. He played the titanic Russian jaeger pilot Sasha Kaidanovsky in _Pacific Rim_. He’s 7’1’ and billed at 350 lbs. ---
**Author:** ![teela\_brown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d9b06d/32.png) [@teela\_brown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/teela_brown)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2016, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-are-extremely-tall-muscular/768205/35 "2016-10-11T21:19:52Z")
I came to mention Idris Elba, thinking he was very tall. But a check shows he’s 6’3". That’s not short, but the man has such a presence that he seems towering. And yes, he’s muscular. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2016, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-are-extremely-tall-muscular/768205/36 "2016-10-11T21:37:05Z")
Henry Simmons of SHIELD (Mack) is 6’4" and has a hell of a build. (I have him tagged to play Garibaldi in a reboot of B5.) ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2016, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-are-extremely-tall-muscular/768205/37 "2016-10-11T22:58:09Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > Gwendoline Christie from Game of Thrones is 6’3". Various sites put her at around 160lbs which I find to be highly unlikely. Meaning 160 seems too high? ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2016, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-are-extremely-tall-muscular/768205/38 "2016-10-11T23:35:15Z")
Mike Colter (Luke Cage) is listed at 6’3 and is very muscular. ---
**Author:** ![Isamu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/7c8e57/32.png) [@Isamu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isamu)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2016, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-are-extremely-tall-muscular/768205/39 "2016-10-12T02:12:36Z")
Terry Crews is 6 foot 2 inches. Not sure if that is “tall”, but he is certainly muscular. ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2016, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-are-extremely-tall-muscular/768205/40 "2016-10-12T02:20:46Z")
He’s not huge but at 6’2", 180 (with like 4 percent bodyfat), Hugh Jackman is pretty damn ripped. He’s HughJ! 🆒 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-are-extremely-tall-muscular/768205.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-are-extremely-tall-muscular/768205.md?page=3)