Three summer movies with overly-muscled protagonists played by actors who gained enormous amounts of muscle in a relatively short period of time inevitably lead to questions about the use of anabolic steroids to achieve their muscular physiques. Jason Momoa in “Conan the Barbarian”, Chris Evans in “Captain America: The First Avenger” and Chris Hemsworth in “Thor” all made dramatic transformations in their physique and have been forced to deflect or deny the media questions regarding steroid use.
Jason Momoa reportedly gained 30 pounds of muscle to play Conan. Rose McGowan, who plays a witch in “Conan the Barbarian”, told the Advocate that the appeal of Momoa’s physique is “not all Mr. Steroid”. Meanwhile, Momoa deflected the question of steroids. “In a perfect world, I’d like to look like a Frank Frazetta painting, without doing steroids,” according to Momoa. Since we don’t live in a perfect world…
Momoa didn’t attribute Dianabol of Winstrol for his transformation instead pointed to a rigorous workout include push-ups, pull-ups and burpees (described as “a tortuous squat-jump-push-up hybrid”). Momoa also followed a strict diet consisting of broccoli, yams, peanut butter and 54 chicken breasts per week.
Chris Hemsworth reportedly gained 20 pounds of muscle to play Thor. He lamented the difficulty of eating the massive quantities of food required to gain muscle mass. This is something very familiar to most bodybuilders. “I feel as if I’ve been busy, but all I’ve been doing is eating all day,” according to Hemsworth. “Eating when you’re not hungry and taking in that amount of food is exhausting.”
Hemsworth, who had never lifted weights before being cast in the role of Thor, denied using steroids. However, a character in the film had no qualms about attributing Thor’s physique to anabolic steroids when asked about Thor’s muscles. “Steroids. He’s a bit of a fitness freak,” explained Dr. Erik Selvig played by actor Stellan Skarsgard.
Chris Evans reportedly gained over 20 pounds of muscle to play Steve Rogers. Evans complained about the extreme workout and diet required to gain this amount of muscle but made no mention of steroids. “Working out sucked, eating sucked more,” according to Evans. “You get to a point where you just can’t even look at another piece of chicken.”
In “Captain America”, the scrawny Steve Rogers is administered anabolic steroids in order to transform the proverbial 98-pound weakling into a patriotic superhero. “That is an all-American message,” joked Steven Colbert on the Colbert Report. “If you’re a skinny kid who wants to serve his country, get jacked up on steroids.”
Sources
Keegan, R. (May 28, 2011). Muscle summer — the men of ‘Captain America,’ ‘Thor’ and ‘Conan’. Retrieved from http://herocomplex.latimes.com/2011/05/28/muscle-summer-the-men-of-captain-america-thor-and-conan/
Oldenburg, A. (August 12, 2011). Rose McGowan: ‘Conan’ co-star Jason Momoa is not ‘Mr. Steroid’. Retrieved from http://usatoday.com
Voss, B. (September 2011). Rose McGowan’s Own Little L Word. Retrieved from http://www.advocate.com
