# Ron Perlman (Hellboy)'s bod **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 3, 2004, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ron-perlman-hellboy-s-bod/243228 "2004-05-03T03:20:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Eats\_Crayons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/278dde/32.png) [@Eats\_Crayons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eats_Crayons)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2004, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ron-perlman-hellboy-s-bod/243228/1 "2004-05-03T03:20:07Z")
Okay, now Ron Perlman has always been a pretty robust fella. Even in his smaller-than-Vincent roles, he’s been pretty darn big and buff. Brawny and barrel chested. I just saw _Hellboy_ and he had a few shirtless scenes – I definitely do not remember him being _that_ big. Big , yes, in _Alien Resurrection_ he’s really big but he’s way, way big in _Hellboy_. Now is that all him? Did he get some prosthetic help like the faux pecs in _Wrath of Khan_? If that was all him, I have to say, I’m impressed. The man is 54! If it’s not him, then I’m still impressed, 'cause then the muscle prosthetics were really, really seamless. ---
**Author:** ![bleach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bleach/32/3106_2.png) [@bleach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bleach)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2004, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ron-perlman-hellboy-s-bod/243228/2 "2004-05-03T03:32:32Z")
I was wondering the same thing. [This interview](http://actionadventure.about.com/cs/weeklystories/a/aa032504_2.htm) seems to confirm that it was latex. ---
**Author:** ![Eats\_Crayons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/278dde/32.png) [@Eats\_Crayons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eats_Crayons)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2004, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ron-perlman-hellboy-s-bod/243228/3 "2004-05-03T03:46:59Z")
It’s hard to tell though from the interview if they were referring to only his head or not. At the end of that interview it says he was in the make up chair for four hours and that does not seem long for muscle-body prosthetics too. Some of it was more apparent – like where he had those weird patterns sort of carved into his skin (hide?), but I’m still kind of wondering about the general size of his pecs, abs, and some of the musculature around his ribs. His shoulders were _huge_ (though I just double checked a photo from _Alein Resurrection_ and his biceps looked about that big). The ADR was really good too, so I couldn’t get any clues from sound. Charlie Sheen was on a killer workout problem to get Rambo-big for that one movie. I’m still wondering exactly how much of that was really Perlman. Kudos to the make-up guys if it was a muscle suit! ---
**Author:** ![Jenaroph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e8c25b/32.png) [@Jenaroph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jenaroph)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2004, 4:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ron-perlman-hellboy-s-bod/243228/4 "2004-05-03T04:18:08Z")
About 10 years ago, he played a strongman in _City of Lost Children._ He had a scene or two shirtless. He was quite well built then, but not as overly huge as in _Hellboy._ My guess is, his own muscles served as a good base and then were latexually enhanced. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2004, 4:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ron-perlman-hellboy-s-bod/243228/5 "2004-05-03T04:33:04Z")
For the record, there were no plastic pecs in _Wrath of Khan_. ---
**Author:** ![Jenaroph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e8c25b/32.png) [@Jenaroph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jenaroph)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2004, 4:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ron-perlman-hellboy-s-bod/243228/6 "2004-05-03T04:40:02Z")
O yeah, I didn’t catch that one, Miller. Yeah, those Montalban puppies were real. Though possibly upholstered in fine Corinthian Leather. ---
**Author:** ![Eats\_Crayons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/278dde/32.png) [@Eats\_Crayons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eats_Crayons)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2004, 12:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ron-perlman-hellboy-s-bod/243228/7 "2004-05-03T12:03:53Z")
> [@Jenaroph](#): > > O yeah, I didn’t catch that one, Miller. Yeah, those Montalban puppies were real. Though possibly upholstered in fine Corinthian Leather. Really? I thought it was on these very boards that I found out it was a fake chest. Hmm. I’ll have to search now. Hm. On the DVD the director confirsm taht it _is_ his real chest. How id that rumour get started? Did not one believe Ricardo could buff up a bit? I did just read Perlman’s description of some of his workout regimen. Pretty heavy on the abs. I guess he got himself super-sized or this flick (and the added layer of effects make-up puffed him out a bit more.) ---
**Author:** ![Eats\_Crayons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/278dde/32.png) [@Eats\_Crayons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eats_Crayons)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2004, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ron-perlman-hellboy-s-bod/243228/8 "2004-05-03T18:14:01Z")
_sigh_ Ahhhhhhhhh… found an interview with Guillermo del Toro - it _is_ indeed a muscle-suit. In the accompmanying picture, it looks kinda like they padded the front of his torsea and shoulders a bit (his arm looks that same as it was in _City of Lost Children_ and _Alien Resurrection_. Still,… damn fine suit! Wonder if they use silicone? ---
**Author:** ![Baldwin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baldwin/32/7264_2.png) [@Baldwin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baldwin)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2004, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ron-perlman-hellboy-s-bod/243228/9 "2004-05-03T23:28:44Z")
I recently watched the new DVD of _Quest for Fire_. That was Perlman’s first movie, and it was tremendously tough physically on all the actors (filming ranged from really cold places in Canada to really, really hot places in Kenya, with little or no clothing). On the cast commentary, Perlman says that every movie since has been a picnic by comparison. (Also, Rae Dawn Chong mentions that she never minded being naked, and Perlman says, “Oh yeah, the crew wanted me to thank you for that.”) ---
**Author:** ![gobear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8dc957/32.png) [@gobear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gobear)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2004, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ron-perlman-hellboy-s-bod/243228/10 "2004-05-03T23:34:34Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > For the record, there were no plastic pecs in _Wrath of Khan_. The interviews on the DVd beg to differ. ---
**Author:** ![Eats\_Crayons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/278dde/32.png) [@Eats\_Crayons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eats_Crayons)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2004, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ron-perlman-hellboy-s-bod/243228/11 "2004-05-03T23:47:57Z")
> [@gobear](#): > > The interviews on the DVd beg to differ. But… I just googled and some site said the director’s commentary confirms that they _were_ Ricardo’s own pecs. (Or was it the producer’s commentary?..) Well, somewhere it said that the DVD put the rumours to rest saying they were real! My world is spinning! Conflicting data! Conflicting data! Help! ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2004, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ron-perlman-hellboy-s-bod/243228/12 "2004-05-04T01:03:38Z")
> [@gobear](#): > > The interviews on the DVd beg to differ. Can you elaborate? Every source I’ve ever heard that had any actual connection with the movie (as opposed to fanboy wanking) has said it was Montalban’s real chest. I’m especially curious because, no insult intended to anyone who thinks this rumor is real, the whole idea has always sounded fantastically stupid to me. It would be an incredible waste of money to make a prosthetic muscle-chest, as opposed to simply giving the character a proper shirt. Unnecessary, too, since Khan having six-pac abs adds nothing to the character and isn’t remotely relevant to the plot. On top of all of that, based on prior make-up jobs in the franchise (and TNG, although they got better by the end of the series and in most of the following shows) I doubt anyone in the Trek f/x department even had the skill to make it look that convincing. Still, I’m always grateful to be proved wrong. Which interview was it? With whom? I’ve got the DVD myself, but not enough interest to watch all the extras to extract this one bit of trivia. ---
**Author:** ![Eats\_Crayons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/278dde/32.png) [@Eats\_Crayons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eats_Crayons)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2004, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ron-perlman-hellboy-s-bod/243228/13 "2004-05-04T04:01:30Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > Unnecessary, too, since Khan having six-pac abs adds nothing to the character and isn’t remotely relevant to the plot. Actually it is relevent to the character. Khan and his band were genetically engineered “super-soliders” of sorts. They were bred to be stronger, faster and smarter than the average human being. Then they had been sent into space and put into suspended animation to be thawed out for the “Big War”. The Big War never happene and everyone forgot about them. Kirk, back in the original TV series, found Khan’s ship and woke them up, but Khan et al. were kinda peeved that they’d missed all the action. Seeing as how they were bred to be “superior” and all, they caused Big Trouble. Chaos ensues. Kirk dumps them on a suitable, life sustaining planet so they won’t cause trouble… Years later… Khan is back for the movie. And he’s wrathful. So yeah, he’s still supposed to be stronger, faster and smarter than the average human. So he’s supposed to be a well-built mofo. Kirk can hide his pug body in his uniform, but Khan is still supposed to be a remarkable specimen of superior hunkiness.