It’s hard to decide which era of action stars maxed out the testosterone scales: the 1980s heyday of Arnold and Sly, or today’s Marvel superheroes, contractually required to rip their shirts off at least once to flaunt their impossibly jacked physiques.
Arnold Schwarzenegger’s He-Man muscles in the sword-and-sorcery (and loincloth) classic Conan the Barbarian (1982) didn’t just swing swords—it reshaped Hollywood fitness goals almost overnight.
Suddenly, Sylvester Stallone went from pleasantly dad-bod buff to absolutely chiseled for ’80s action staples like First Blood II: Rambo and Rocky IV (both 1985). Meanwhile, ’70s hunky heartthrobs like Burt Reynolds, Charles Bronson, and Clint Eastwood quietly opted for more layers instead of bare chests.
The era of shredded had officially arrived.
Still, Arnold and Sly were the kings of the ’80s action scene, with future stars like Wesley Snipes and Jean-Claude Van Damme biding their time for a ’90s takeover.
Today, we’re diving into some other surprisingly swole actors from the decade. Like we did for some ’70s stars, we’re also speculating just how they managed to get those biceps bulging.
Hell, maybe some of these guys didn’t even use steroids!
Or, maybe not…
“Before getting into the list and looking deeply into the glistening pecs of the 1980s, my gut is to assume that they all were given some sort of chemical help,” David Shonts, CSCS (Certified Strength & Conditioning Specialist), told VICE.
Shonts, a longtime college and high school strength and conditioning coach, explained that training methodology progressed significantly from the 60’s and 70’s.
“Take a look at the bodybuilding stage and Olympic records from those time periods,” he added. “I think those are a good window to view the training (and chemical) advancements that took place.”
With that in mind, let’s take a flex-fueled trip down memory lane…
Harrison Ford: What Are Professor Zaddy’s Office Hours?
In Star Wars (1977) and Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), Harrison Ford rocked a lean, athletic build. But by 1984’s Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, the now-mega star had clearly swapped archaeology lectures for serious gym sessions. With a script that called for more bad-guy-busting action, the then 42-year-old Ford showed off a physique worthy of an adventurer.
“I know he was a carpenter, a damn physically demanding job,” Shonts reasoned. “So I have no doubt that anyone with a manual job has a great baseline for strength development. Those guys usually have strong forearms and powerful backs.”
Shonts also hints that Hollywood magic boosted Ford’s look in Temple of Doom. Especially the iconic scene where Dr. Jones, perched on a rope bridge over a crocodile-filled river, flexes heroically with a machete in hand, ready to cut the bridge and take down the villains.
“Indy on the bridge… definitely pumped up and flexing,” the strength coach points out.
“He banged out some push-ups, overhead press, and curls within minutes of that shot,” Shonts continued. “He was in his early forties here and looks great; everything is in proportion. That doesn’t happen accidentally or in a hurry. Unless he is extremely genetically gifted, a ton of hard work went into this physique. I would imagine that a person accustomed to hard, physical labor would have no problem jumping into a free weight (barbell/dumbbell) program and already have a good base to build from.”
Ford’s body was by jake
Meanwhile, Ford hired a future trainer of the stars, Jake Steinfeld (of Body by Jake fame), to pump him up for his second go around as Indiana Jones. According to a 2024 Men’s Health piece on Steinfeld, he had Ford training “six days a week using moderate weights and lots of repetitions,” and a diet of “lots of fish and vegetables.”
He also went with Ford on location in Sri Lanka to keep him in peak condition. Steinfeld told Men’s Health that it was his idea for Ford to go sleeveless as Indiana Jones in the now-famous bridge scene to show off his jacked arms.
“This isn’t a bodybuilding picture, Jake,” Ford supposedly deadpanned when he heard Steinfeld throw out the idea to director Steven Spielberg. However, Spielberg took the trainer’s note, and the rest is movie buff history.
Men’s Health notes that Ford’s ripped look in Temple of Doom was so inspiring, Spielberg started training with Steinfeld himself. He even rocked a “Body By Jake” shirt at the 1990 opening of Universal Studios Florida.
Chuck Norris: Transforming Furry to Fury
Chuck Norris made his mark in the ’70s with his rugged, hairy physique, famously facing off against Bruce Lee in 1972’s Way of the Dragon.
By the ’80s, well into his 40s, he didn’t just maintain his tough-guy image—he elevated it. Trading in his hairy look for a clean-shaven, oiled-up appearance, Norris showed off a muscular physique that could give even Stallone a run for his money.
And he pulled it all off with roundhouse kicks and calisthenics he picked up during his Air Force days, right?
“Chuck was a legitimate fighter,” Shonts, also a wrestling coach, insisted. “He won a number of full-contact tournaments. He would have likely done well if MMA were a more mainstream sport at the time.”
“That being said, this is a body that had seen some incredible abuse,” Shonts continued.
“A lifetime of martial arts training and conditioning takes its toll. To train/lift regularly in your mid-40s with that much wear and tear, I would assume that quite a bit of his resistance training was machine/nautilus-based.”
So Chuck didn’t get those guns perfecting katas? Say it ain’t so.
“His physique here says physique model to me,” Shonts added.
Over the decades, Chuck experimented with various training methods. However, he did pick up a few bodybuilding tips from the best. In fact, the legendary Lou Ferrigno—The Incredible Hulk himself—personally trained Norris in the 1980s at his home gym, according to a 2019 Facebook post from Ferrigno.
Nicolas Cage: Crazy Buff
Of course, Nicolas Cage was an action star in the ’90s with films like Face/Off, Con Air, and The Rock. However, when he was a younger actor who specialized in playing eccentric parts in indie films, he was already jacked.
For the 1986 period drama The Boy in Blue, Cage played 1880s Canadian rowing champion Ned Hanlan.
Cage very much looked the part, which promo materials for the film very much showed off. He was around 22 at the time.
Shonts seemed to be gobsmacked by Cage’s rowing body here, calling him “yoked” before speculating on how he got that bod.
“He looks great here, and just 22? I have zero knowledge of his fitness journey, but there was some real time spent under a barbell here.”
“And enough oil to gain admittance to the next Diddy party,” Shonts added, though we here at VICE want to point out that Cage has never been linked to a Diddy party.
Danny Glover: Not Too Old to Be Buffer Than Mel Gibson
Much fuss was made over Mel Gibson’s physique in the first two Lethal Weapon films, with plenty of opportunities to show it off (including that iconic rain-soaked, shirtless jujitsu showdown with peak Gary Busey). But let’s not sleep on Danny Glover—quietly rocking a physique that could rival his younger co-star’s. Glover would’ve been between 41 and 43 for the first two Lethal Weapon films.
“He looks like an aging athlete,” Shonts observed.
“He looks great, fit as hell for over 40. The muscle looks like it’s been there, it looks functional, and it looks proportional. My guess: he leaned out more than bulked up for this flick,” he continued. “Probably a good blend of training, free weights, machines, and body weight training.”
Our expert also observed that Glover’s on-screen physique appears completely natural.
“Probably a good blend of training, free weights, machines, and body weight training,” he added.
Glover required arthroscopic surgery on both knees by 1990…
In 1990, Glover shared his intense training regimen for Predator 2, stepping into the brawny shoes of Arnold Schwarzenegger from the previous film.
“I went into training for this picture five weeks before we started shooting,” Glover told the LA Times then. “I ran four miles a day, six days a week at 7 o’clock in the morning on the sand not far from where I live in San Francisco.”
“After running, I worked out at a gym and pumped iron so I could be convincing. Also, I wanted to survive,” he quipped of the grueling shoot.
The Times reported that the then 44-year-old Glover needed arthroscopic surgery on both knees after the production wrapped. The price of being buff for a movie.
Steve Guttenberg: The 1980s Buff Guy You Can Bring Home to Daddy
Steve Guttenberg is not exactly the first actor that springs to mind when you think of buffness. However, the Gutt rocked an impressive physique for 1984’s Police Academy. Did Steve, only around 25 at the time, just have a locker room scene ready bod for the film, or did he get in shape after reading it in the script and taking the role?
Our resident expert could barely repress his yawn at the ample display of Guttenberg’s flesh.
“Looks like young muscle,” Shonts began with his less-than-impressed assessment. “Built as fast as possible for the role,” he continued, before tearing into the Gutt’s body like Lorenzo Lamas on the forgotten reality TV show Are You Hot?
“Some individual pieces look great, but very little is in proportion,” he continued in his relentless onslaught. “Forearms and triceps lag behind the biceps, which have been lapped by the pecs, traps, and medial/anterior delts.”
“I’m guessing lots of sets to failure on isolation machines,” he added. “Lots of pec deck, DB flyes, shrugs, and curls. To build that chest with a barbell, the triceps would be sizable too. And they aren’t.”
“The forearms look like a normal dude’s, but the biceps don’t. That tells me, ‘preacher curl machine.’”
Showing his size queen colors, Shonts also mercilessly points out that Guttenberg is seriously lacking below the belt.
“A long towel hides the quads. If it didn’t look like he was riding a chicken, we would’ve been treated to a shot of the gams,” Shonts suggested.
An Everyman and superhero padding killed the 1980s era buff hero
Of course, all good things must come to an end, even for our buff 1980s heroes.
The double whammy of Bruce Willis’s relatable everyman in Die Hard (1988) and Michael Keaton’s muscles by way of a padded costume in Batman (1989) put the brakes on the reign of ridiculously ripped action stars—at least until the MCU bulked things up in 2011 with Thor and Captain America.
Still, a few male hard bodies managed to make it to the Hollywood A-list in the 1990s …but that is another story.
The post Movie Buff: 5 Iconic Hardbodies of the ’80s and the Sweat Secrets Behind Them appeared first on VICE.
