I've always been impressed when a movie star makes a drastic physical transformation in order to portray a character in a film. This is usually the case in superhero and action movies. Many months prior to shooting, these actors are working hard around the clock and have unlimited budgets for personal trainers, dieticians, and other experts to help them achieve a very muscular and fit look. As you can see below, Christian Bale has gone through a range of extremes for a variety of movie roles.
It's always surprising when you see one of these stars in a different movie a year later and they look just like a normal person again. This just goes to show how important consistency and lifestyle change is for long term results. When they stop the extreme measures they were taking, they return to their "normal" selves. Frequently when you see someone make one of these amazing transformations in such a short amount of time, people will accuse them of using performance enhancing drugs like steroids. Some critics accuse anyone who has larger muscles than them as being on the juice, but there are also less jealous observers out there with very valid concerns about these fast and drastic results.
I have no problem if someone decides to include pharmacology to prepare for a movie role or if they just want to change their personal appearance. It's not like they are an Olympic athlete and have rules against doing so. What I do have a problem with is when they claim it's all natural and that everyone can accomplish what they did if they eat 6 chicken breasts a day and just work hard. Over the years I 've seen so many people promoting celebrity workout programs or diets so you can look just like them. I find it equally disappointing when athletes promote supplements and credit them as the reason for their success or amazing physique.
Last week I saw the video below by Josh Brett. He's created some great Youtube videos about the fitness industry and does such an excellent job sharing insights about this Hollywood makeover process. I have been saying so many of the things mentioned in this video for years, but his presentation is much more professional than anything I could produce on the subject. I highly recommend you watch this eye-opening short video.
By the way, I'm a fan of every single actor that is featured in this video so I am not hating on them. I really can't say I blame any of them if they do use PEDs to prepare for a movie role, but I don't appreciate when certain media sources attempt to make the results you see on the big screen appear to be the result of just hard work, especially when they are trying to sell you something to get the same results but they ignore a very large part of the equation to their getting such drastic results so fast.
