In the age of superheroes and action stars, is it any surprise that a number of our favourite actors use steroids to boost their physical aesthetics for their roles.
Steroids and human growth hormones are no longer a preserve of cheating athletes and angry body-builders.
A vast number of Hollywood actors use steroids to get their body to a physical peak in order to look better in their individual roles. The pressure on stars to be in perfect physical shape in a short amount of preparation time in many cases leads to the use of performance-enhancing drugs.
With Hollywood pulsing as fast as it’s actors biceps with a new wave of action stars, the debate rages about the ethics of taking steroids and other performance-enhancing drugs in order to prepare for a role. We take a look at why these actors are taking steroids in Hollywood and ask if it is ethical to do so.
Veteran personal trainer, Happy Hill, who worked with Jake Gyllenhaal and Ryan Phillip to chisel their impressive torsos, estimates that twenty percent of actors use PEDs (performance enhancing drugs) to bulk up as a short-cut when preparing for a role. Happy Hill discusses the abuse of human growth hormones (HGH) in Hollywood.
“HGH is on the scene now more than ever before,” says Hill, who frowns upon PED use and stresses that none of his clients use any form of muscle enhancing drugs. “It’s hard not to use. Some people, especially the older ones, are looking for that perfect gym body, and they want a shortcut.”
Happy Hill highlights how that chiseled torso and rippling abs are difficult to maintain after 40. However, these actors still have enormous expectation to look great on screen and appeal to younger audiences with their maintained aesthetics over the years. Is the ethical question here about our audience expectations or with the actors who ‘choose’ to take the PEDS?
As Hollywood swells by the year with new generations of box-office draws, the older male stars re further expected to maintain their physical peak as they remain at the top of the studio wish list. The 40-year-old star is equally expected to rip off his shirt and look spectacular just as much as the young superhero star coming through the ranks. And if he does not – people say he is out of shape! The fact is, the six-pack abs are difficult to maintain and according to Happy Hill, trainer to the stars, “unless you are extremely genetically gifted,” it is unnatural and very, very difficult to achieve the Hollywood expectation – especially with the quick turnover of movies in today’s industry. Many industry stars have been open about their usage of PEDs and HGHs. Oliver Stone, Nick Nolte and Dixie Carter all openly express the anti-aging benefits of human growth hormones. Charlie Sheen also admitted that he took steroids to boost his figure for his role in 1989′s Major League. Mickey Rourke and Arnold Schwarzenegger, two of the biggest names in the action world, have also opened up about using performance enhancing drugs. What is interesting is, does any section of the action-movie-fan-base look upon this and frown? We still revere the likes of Arnold Schwarzenegger despite his obvious years of steroid use. We are not suggesting by any means that we support the use of HGHs, PEDs or steroids. Quite the opposite. But we raise the question that the debate goes further than slamming these actors and stars for using the drugs, when it is the industry and the machine that sets up the idea that they must fit a certain aesthetic standard if they are to remain at the top. Elaborating on this, Mark Twight, an elite trainer who was responsible for Henry Cavill’s Superman torso has some expressive words to say about the Hollywood steroid debate.
“The guy who uses steroids and admits to it earns more respect from me than the guy who uses but insists he doesn’t and wants his fans to believe he did things the hard way.”
Interestingly, two names right in the epicenter of the PED debate have denied the use of steroids whilst preparing for a role. Dwayne Johnson and Mark Wahlberg more recently starred in Michael Bay’s Pain & Gain. The movie glorifies physical aesthetics and makes interesting comments on the expectations of Hollywood actors. The Rock and Wahlberg are enormous in Pain & Gain, as their roles demand it. On the press tour for the film, Mark Wahlberg, aged 42, stresses he never used PEDs in preparation for the role. Todd Schroeder, a USC professor and steroid expert, says that the human body can naturally achieve incredible aesthetic results particularly in one’s early twenties. Natural testosterone production is high at this stage of development, but for older actors, especially those who are cast in a role and are required to get ripped quickly, the temptation to cheat a little may be too great when to achieve the peak naturally, the body would have to go through considerable pain and risk. However, not all people condemn the use steroids. Vlad Yudin, the director of Generation Iron, narrated by Mickey Rourke himself, is less alarmed about actors and body-builders using steroids. “The more actors learn about it, the more they tend to use it,” Yudin says. “It comes down to how you use it and who can guide you. Without a proper guide, it can be dangerous. And again, it takes a lot of hard work regardless.”
Yudin stressed how famous actors today like Arnold Schwarzenegger used steroids when he was earning titles like Mr. Universe and Mr. Olympia. These enhancements and titles helped to launch his now famous movie career. Yudin comments on how the usage of steroids in the body-building community is much less of a debate. Schwarzenegger acknowledges that he was aided by steroids, arguing it was more experimental at the time. As for today, he sees ridding bodybuilding — and any other sport that trades on strength — of the rampant drug use that goes on as a significant challenge. “The drug industry is so sophisticated that there’s always a way around it,” he says. “But that doesn’t mean we should give up.” It is impossible to answer the debate finally without knowing which specific actors are using steroids to aid their development. But one thing is for sure. the use of steroids and PEDs within Hollywood is not solely down to the actors who consume them. It is the responsibility of each and every studio who manufacture a body image that is consumed and expected by their film’s audience.
Steroids and human growth hormones are no longer a preserve of cheating athletes and angry body-builders.
With Hollywood pulsing as fast as it’s actors biceps with a new wave of action stars, the debate rages about the ethics of taking steroids and other performance-enhancing drugs in order to prepare for a role. We take a look at why these actors are taking steroids in Hollywood and ask if it is ethical to do so.
Veteran personal trainer, Happy Hill, who worked with Jake Gyllenhaal and Ryan Phillip to chisel their impressive torsos, estimates that twenty percent of actors use PEDs (performance enhancing drugs) to bulk up as a short-cut when preparing for a role. Happy Hill discusses the abuse of human growth hormones (HGH) in Hollywood.
“HGH is on the scene now more than ever before,” says Hill, who frowns upon PED use and stresses that none of his clients use any form of muscle enhancing drugs. “It’s hard not to use. Some people, especially the older ones, are looking for that perfect gym body, and they want a shortcut.”
As Hollywood swells by the year with new generations of box-office draws, the older male stars re further expected to maintain their physical peak as they remain at the top of the studio wish list. The 40-year-old star is equally expected to rip off his shirt and look spectacular just as much as the young superhero star coming through the ranks. And if he does not – people say he is out of shape! The fact is, the six-pack abs are difficult to maintain and according to Happy Hill, trainer to the stars, “unless you are extremely genetically gifted,” it is unnatural and very, very difficult to achieve the Hollywood expectation – especially with the quick turnover of movies in today’s industry. Many industry stars have been open about their usage of PEDs and HGHs. Oliver Stone, Nick Nolte and Dixie Carter all openly express the anti-aging benefits of human growth hormones. Charlie Sheen also admitted that he took steroids to boost his figure for his role in 1989′s Major League. Mickey Rourke and Arnold Schwarzenegger, two of the biggest names in the action world, have also opened up about using performance enhancing drugs. What is interesting is, does any section of the action-movie-fan-base look upon this and frown? We still revere the likes of Arnold Schwarzenegger despite his obvious years of steroid use. We are not suggesting by any means that we support the use of HGHs, PEDs or steroids. Quite the opposite. But we raise the question that the debate goes further than slamming these actors and stars for using the drugs, when it is the industry and the machine that sets up the idea that they must fit a certain aesthetic standard if they are to remain at the top. Elaborating on this, Mark Twight, an elite trainer who was responsible for Henry Cavill’s Superman torso has some expressive words to say about the Hollywood steroid debate.
“The guy who uses steroids and admits to it earns more respect from me than the guy who uses but insists he doesn’t and wants his fans to believe he did things the hard way.”
Interestingly, two names right in the epicenter of the PED debate have denied the use of steroids whilst preparing for a role. Dwayne Johnson and Mark Wahlberg more recently starred in Michael Bay’s Pain & Gain. The movie glorifies physical aesthetics and makes interesting comments on the expectations of Hollywood actors. The Rock and Wahlberg are enormous in Pain & Gain, as their roles demand it. On the press tour for the film, Mark Wahlberg, aged 42, stresses he never used PEDs in preparation for the role. Todd Schroeder, a USC professor and steroid expert, says that the human body can naturally achieve incredible aesthetic results particularly in one’s early twenties. Natural testosterone production is high at this stage of development, but for older actors, especially those who are cast in a role and are required to get ripped quickly, the temptation to cheat a little may be too great when to achieve the peak naturally, the body would have to go through considerable pain and risk. However, not all people condemn the use steroids. Vlad Yudin, the director of Generation Iron, narrated by Mickey Rourke himself, is less alarmed about actors and body-builders using steroids. “The more actors learn about it, the more they tend to use it,” Yudin says. “It comes down to how you use it and who can guide you. Without a proper guide, it can be dangerous. And again, it takes a lot of hard work regardless.”
Yudin stressed how famous actors today like Arnold Schwarzenegger used steroids when he was earning titles like Mr. Universe and Mr. Olympia. These enhancements and titles helped to launch his now famous movie career. Yudin comments on how the usage of steroids in the body-building community is much less of a debate. Schwarzenegger acknowledges that he was aided by steroids, arguing it was more experimental at the time. As for today, he sees ridding bodybuilding — and any other sport that trades on strength — of the rampant drug use that goes on as a significant challenge. “The drug industry is so sophisticated that there’s always a way around it,” he says. “But that doesn’t mean we should give up.” It is impossible to answer the debate finally without knowing which specific actors are using steroids to aid their development. But one thing is for sure. the use of steroids and PEDs within Hollywood is not solely down to the actors who consume them. It is the responsibility of each and every studio who manufacture a body image that is consumed and expected by their film’s audience.
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