Credit: Marvel StudiosMarvel Studios has had many actors get fit over the years, but for some reason, many MCU fans have believed that the actor’s transformations have been all-natural, but one specialist opens up on what actually happens.
Robert Downey Jr.’s Iron Man (2008) started a new trend in Hollywood. Super hero movies weren’t just fun summer blockbusters anymore. Why? Because the MCU demanded to be so much more than a new super hero trilogy. Instead of relying on Iron Man to carry his own franchise, Marvel used the super hero to launch a new franchise with interconnected storytelling, and for Phase One, this ended with The Avengers (2012), the first ever super hero crossover movie to be done and the box office history makes it clear that Marvel was doing something special.
The only problem was that every actor had to be in top shape with Chris Hemsworth, Chris Evans, Robert Downey Jr., and more in phenomenal shape, and their transformation was quick and sudden. Evans had to be super skinny for the start of Captain America: The First Avenger (2009), and then bulk up to be Captain America and have that build going forward, which is something fans didn’t really expect.
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According to Vanity Fair, Dr. Todd Schroeder had some thoughts on the whole affair. Schroeder is the associate professor of clinical physical therapy and director of the University of Southern California Clinical Exercise Research Center at the USC Division of Biokinesiology and Physical Therapy and is an expert on steroid/ performance enhancer use. He starts by saying that he isn’t surprised if 50-75% of MCU actors use some form of performance enhancers to help themselves. He goes on to add that it’s kind of expected these days in Hollywood to be in good shape suddenly:
“Nowadays, it’s kind of expected and, working under a doctor’s care, it’s really been accepted. A lot of actors won’t talk about it openly, but they will work with a physician as well as a nutritionist and a trainer, and it’s a team. It’s not smart for an actor to do that alone.”
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Schroeder says that not everything is bad with performance enhancers, but it’s all about how long you use it. If it’s a short-term situation and you have a team, you’re not going to suffer a lot of consequences, but it’s only serious when you don’t have the proper care and do it for long periods.
While Schroeder doesn’t list actors who might take performance enhancers, it makes sense why they would do it. If you’re getting paid millions just to have a good physique and the proper care and team of specialists, it won’t ruin your life just to take a few performance enhancers, if done correctly. With all of the big action fights and many male actors having to show off their muscles a few times in the movies, it makes sense why they need to have that muscle because CGI can’t fix that problem.
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Another point that Schroeder brings up is how tough it is to stay in good shape when you get older, which is why it’s shocking for actors like Robert Downey Jr. to stay in really good shape after all this time:
“Especially as you get older. Like Robert Downey Jr., all the Iron Man [movies] he’s done, and some of them he’s gotten in really good shape for, but maintaining that is challenging. It’s a tough, tough world out there. What people expect of you and how you need to look, and trying to maintain that. I feel for these actors, especially if you’re in a Marvel role, where you’re going to be in multiple films.”
For Chris Hemsworth and his jacked body, Schroeder doesn’t believe the Australian actor takes steroids. Hemsworth looks so good because of his genetics and body, and that’s why some actors can naturally get there while others struggle to get a body like that. With all the major projects lined up for the MCU, fans are bound to see more action scenes requiring actors to bulk up. Two Avengers movies are on the way, and actors like Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman immediately returned to the gym to get into shape for Deadpool 3 (2024) before they started filming. It’s part of the life of an MCU actor, but not all of them do it naturally, which is something fans might not have realized.
Do you think Robert Downey Jr.’s physique is all-natural? Who do you think uses performance enhancers to help keep their body in great shape? Let Inside the Magic know what you think!