Building a Bigger Action Hero - Inside Hollywood's Muscle Factory. Brando never did crunches. Al Pacino didn't slurp protein shakes. Cary Grant had never even heard of burpees, BOSU balls, or human growth hormone. But not one of today's leading men can afford the luxury of a gym- free life. You simply don't get your name on a movie poster these days unless you've got a superhero's physique – primed for high- def close- ups and global market appeal. Brando never did crunches. Al Pacino didn't slurp protein shakes. Cary Grant had never even heard of burpees, BOSU balls, or human growth hormone. Woman Suffering from Endometriosis Pens An Emotional Love Letter to Her Husband. Getting there takes effort, vigilance, and the dedication of the elite athlete: high- intensity training, strict diets, supplements, and hormone replacement. If that fails, there are always drugs. Today's actors spend more time in the gym than they do rehearsing, more time with their trainers than with their directors. Acting skill – even paired with leading- man looks and undeniable charisma – is not enough to get you cast in a big- budget spy thriller or a Marvel Comics franchise. And we expect them to be big and powerful and commanding. Jordan, who got his break as The Wire's sensitive kid Wallace and raised his profile in last year's Fruitvale Station, knows he needs to be able to bulk up on command if he wants to break into the A- list. Being fit is so important. The bar has been raised. Now even Tom Cruise and Bruce Willis, who is pushing 6. Gunnar Peterson, the trainer who for decades has maintained the physiques of Sylvester Stallone, Bruce Willis, and others, agrees. Peterson walks me through a cluttered private gym that's as subtle as his clientele: There's a life- size cutout of Sylvester Stallone in The Expendables next to pyrotechnic stills of Rambo and Rocky, and a W magazine cover of a shirtless Bruce Willis and his wife, Emma, who met in Peterson's gym. Near the Gatorade- emblazoned glass doors are the uneven bars where Stallone practices timed hangs (like the ones he did in Cliffhanger) and the yoga ball with which Kim Kardashian perfected her prodigious ass. The baseline goal is to keep an actor fit enough so that he can get ready for any role in as few as eight weeks. And though he's trained primarily for aesthetics, he still needs to be able to swing a sword, kick a guy's face, or do a lap dance in ass- less chaps, as Matthew Mc. Conaughey (another Peterson client) did in Magic Mike. Peterson points at a framed poster of Mc. Conaughey in his leather thong, signed, . It has to be a one- arm dumbbell press on a stability ball? Look, it's great that you have an i. Pad, but there's nothing wrong with a book. The Question: With all the video games, television, computers, etc., it's no surprise children are becoming overweight and inactive. It is important to educate. The rest of my "Fifty+, Fit, and. Jordan ate to get ridiculously ripped for 'Creed'. The movie Creed, out Thanksgiving, is about stepping out of someone else. In the case of Michael B. Jordan, who plays Adonis. MSN Health and Fitness has fitness, nutrition and medical information for men and women that will help you get active, eat right and improve your overall wellbeing. Boxing How to get shredded like Michael B. Jordan in "Creed" Our December 2015 cover star got seriously ripped to play Rocky Balboa's protégé. I ask him what he would say to a young actor who thinks he can make it on natural good looks and talent. Now objectification makes no gender distinctions: Male actors' bare asses are more likely to be shot in sex scenes; their vacation guts and poolside man boobs are as likely to command a sneering full- page photo in a celebrity weekly's worst- bodies feature, or go viral as a source of Web ridicule. A sharply defined inguinal crease – the twin ligaments hovering above the hips that point toward a man's junk – is as coveted as double- D cleavage. Muscle matters more than ever, as comic- book franchises swallow up the box office, in the increasingly critical global market. Previously known for his lush, golden hair, the girls' guy Pitt was reborn as Durden, a sinewy, predatory man's man. If you strip away fat and get guys to 3, 4 percent body fat, they look huge without necessarily being huge. No actor can gain 1. Trainers talk about the . Matt Damon, who dropped 4. Courage Under Fire, got so sick that he was beset by dizzy spells on set, impairing his adrenal gland and nearly doing serious damage to his heart. Even in the best- case scenario, calorie deprivation can exhaust an actor, making him light- headed, distracted, and fatigued. Since 5 percent body fat is nobody's natural condition, fitness plans are geared to peak on the days of the sex scenes or shirtless moments. To prep for these days, trainers will dehydrate a client like a boxing manager sweats a fighter down to weight. They often switch him to a low- or no- sodium diet three or four days in advance, fade out the carbohydrates, brew up diuretics like herbal teas, and then push cardio to sweat out water – all to accentuate muscle definition for the key scenes. The last- minute pump comes right before the cameras roll. Philip Winchester, the hero of Cinemax's action series Strike Back, recalls seeing the technique for the first time on the set of Snatch: . I thought, 'Why is he showing off?' . I'd always wondered, 'How do actors look so jacked all the time?' Well, they don't. Now we ask: Is it a push- up scene? When I shot that Strike Back poster, I was doing push- ups like a madman, saying, 'Take the picture now! A pudgy Spiderman can't swing. And an actor who can't get jacked on deadline doesn't have a shot at being a leading man in today's Hollywood. Given the choice between acting chops and physique, producers and directors will often choose the better body. Today studios make bigger bets on fewer movies, aiming for blockbusters that are more expensive and complex than ever to make and whose trailers and posters rely on a ripped leading man. An out- of- shape actor can force a director to recast roles, reshoot scenes, or use CGI effects, often at great expense. Once he is signed on for a role and a production schedule is set, the actor is expected to do whatever he has to to get in the shape required of his character. Fitness budgets are baked into most contracts; studios typically pay for trainers, nutritionists, and even home- delivered meals. Some studios make a point to hire their own trainers so they can control the outcome. Recently, a major production was pushed back several weeks when the star told producers he needed more time before he could go shirtless. He's the reason you got the money in the first place. So can the hazards of not working out: . The most expensive trainer in Hollywood, Pasternak creates nutrition and fitness plans, then assigns one of his six staff trainers to work with a client. Before a single bead of sweat forms, Pasternak will discuss the role with a film's producer and then go over the rough plan with the actor, setting goals based on the character. Eight weeks' prep is standard for most films, but schedules shift – and sometimes eight weeks isn't enough. Are there any action scenes? Are there any sex scenes? If so, where are they in the shooting schedule? Should I send a trainer to be on set? Should I send a chef? Telling a star he's out of shape requires a professional touch. Bobby Strom, a tatted- up bodybuilder and former New York City detective who rose to fame on the tightness of Jennifer Lopez's ass, says he is sometimes asked to speak candidly to the talent when no one else has the guts. After George Clooney played the pudgy Everyman lead in Michael Clayton, the producers on his next project sounded the alarm. They asked Strom to talk to Clooney, but Strom refused. We want to ask him to call you,' but nobody had the nerve! They were all scared. Sometimes it's just because they're insanely busy. A single injury can shut down a shoot and drive production over budget, so there's increasing pressure for stars to stay fit, or perform injured if they don't. Big stars are a different matter. Studios will stop at nothing to keep them happy – and ripped. Bruce Willis's weight trailer, which Teamsters drive to the set every day, is rumored to have cost $2. Downtime is the one constant on any shoot, so many actors improvise ways to keep fit on set. Nikolaj Coster- Waldau likes . Russell Crowe likes to bike, if he does anything at all. Jonny Lee Miller runs to and from the set of Elementary. Jake Gyllenhaal prefers cardio, mostly biking and barefoot running. Since 2. 00. 3, Robert Downey Jr. Matthew Mc. Conaughey used to drop down and do push- ups in the middle of meetings, or whenever the Washington Redskins (his favorite team) scored – just so he could hit his daily goals. Jamie Foxx does push- ups in between brushing his teeth and shaving, as part of his morning ritual. That's just part of who you are. Sometimes a superhero's journey begins with the needle prick of a syringe full of human growth hormone (HGH), testosterone, or steroids. Testosterone and HGH are far more common, particularly for older actors, since lower levels of testosterone can make it impossible to retain muscle mass. I encourage getting tested. There are dozens of hormone- replacement clinics in and around Hollywood, and their business is booming. But there are significant risks: Hormone therapy accelerates all cell growth, whether healthy or malignant, and can encourage existing cancers, especially prostate cancers, to metastasize at terrifying rates. Testosterone supplements can lower sperm counts. For many, the risk is worth it. So who on a movie set would be most likely to take a risk on something unproven that could cause bodily harm? The stuntmen, of course. Several actors we spoke to say the stunt guys introduced them to performance- enhancing drugs. It makes some sense: If you're asked to body- double for Ryan Gosling without the benefit of his trainer and his personal chef, you'll be tempted to take a shortcut, too. And if you're jumping off buildings, battling ninjas, or swinging a battle- ax at ogres all day (or, worse, playing the ogre who gets bashed in 2. HGH's accelerated recovery time. Stuntmen often work for day rates, so every day they can't work is a day they don't get paid. I asked, 'What are you guys doing?' . It's easy to see how an actor – especially one who relies on his brawn or his ability to throw a convincing punch – might seek that same edge. That edge is what lured Manu Bennett, who played the fearsome gladiator Crixus on Spartacus. In 2. 00. 7, at the age of 3. The Smashing Machine, the story of ferocious Mark Kerr, an MMA fighter and drug addict. Bennett was to face off with Jean- Claude Van Damme. It was a dream role, his real break, so Bennett went all- in. Australia and began taking injections. He put on 4. 4 pounds in three months.
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