actor requirements for shows/movies ridiculous?

[CTTT]

So, I'm currently watching STAR TREK TOS and I happened to notice something. William Shatner was no doubt handsome at the time and it was common then as it is now to have attractive actors in shows and movies. But i notice in his shirtless scenes that he wasn't really that muscular. He looked like he had an average figure. Fast forward 50+ years and it seems like to have a role in any kind of movie/show be it romcom, action or whatever to have a six pack figure, or lose a bunch of weight for a role and I question, is it really that necessary? Other countless stories exist (Hugh Jackmans strict regimen to play Wolverine, Christian Bale's weight gain for American Hustle etc. I mean, that can't be healthy in the long run for an actors body. And it's not just limited to male actors, actresses have gone full tilt to be fit for their movies too. I kind of wish it went back to that safer time in the 50s 60s where you could sit down and enjoy whatever was on without thinking "do they look right?" And considering Bruce Willis's recent diagnosis of frontemporal dementia that came about possibly due to a head injury on one of his movies, I feel like changes should be made for actors safety, that they can play a part and not necessarily have to be buff or a skinny bean pole(Christian Bale The Machinist).

[Kirby101]

Bale is not doing it because it is required, he is just a bit insane.
But I agree about the unrealistic bodies that actors have. This isn't just exercise, but ridiculous diets of high. Maybe we should blame Arnold?
But itsa unhealthy body image for men.

It's worse for women.

[ChrisIII]

Interesting thing about Shatner, if you look at him in the first half of the 70s (and starting with season 3 of Trek) he actually gained a fair amount of weight, but when it became clear in the mid-to-late 70s that a new Star Trek project was on the way, he lost a fair amount of weight around the time of TMP and actually had to wear a girdle in some scenes.

The later films, especially the Nicholas Meyer films, had Kirk's aging as part of his character arc (Also the films are supposed to actually take place over a decade after TMP) so he didn't really have to lose weight.

[j9ac9k]

I think a big part of it - specifically with the examples you mention - is that these films are extra to begin with. These are super-heightened realities with insane SFX where everything is so Big and Epic and the things these characters do are Huge and Impossible. So a hero in that world is meant to exemplify their ability to take on this comic book reality. It's become part of the visual language of these spectacle movies, just as it was in the comic books. Something meant to be more grounded and human like "The Last of Us" requires Joel to be human (and also vulnerable) so we don't need to see him jacked up to take on mushroom zombies.

[Fridays]

No it is not ridiculous, its ironic you started with star trek since the current star trek shows are utter garbage in casting the wrong actors as well as story arcs.

A lot of men are required to buff up for roles. If I wanted an actor for Thor, James Bond and Batman. I will not want an actor who is overweight or fat. sorry not sorry but that is the truth. At the end of the day, you are still selling a product and to some extent a fantasy and the woman gaze is still needed. I expect actors to hit the gym and get a good body. A lot of the times it pays off. Like this.




With women it is more complex because society are harder on females, but be that as it may, I will like most of my actress to be subjectively physically attractive to an extent and this is down to hair, make up, cloths and camera angles. Something I once said about Titanic, I have never seen kate winselt look as pretty or as attractive in any other movie as she was in titanic. I find Rose Dawson the character gorgeous and Kate Winselt is more of a plain jane.

I will not want a 300 pounds actress for wonder woman either, neither will I want a size 0 model. Gal Gadot is a pretty girl but she was too thin for wonder woman. The bottom line is actors are meant to look their best for roles, especially in block buster movies. Lastly I am not too sure how Bruce's dementia was linked to acting trying to stay in good shape for a role.

[ChrisIII]

Interesting thing about Bond, I don't think he was really intended to be particularly buff. Fleming's description was basically Hoagy Carmichael with some scars, including a long one on his face (Visible mostly in comic adaptations).


Connery was actually a champion bodybuilder in the 50s but got progressively out of shape over the course of the Bond films, with this most evident in DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER. Funny thing is, apart from a few extra wrinkles and gray hair he actually looks somewhat younger body-wise in NEVER SAY NEVER AGAIN since he actually got fit for that.

[Mister Mets]

I think a big part of it - specifically with the examples you mention - is that these films are extra to begin with. These are super-heightened realities with insane SFX where everything is so Big and Epic and the things these characters do are Huge and Impossible. So a hero in that world is meant to exemplify their ability to take on this comic book reality. It's become part of the visual language of these spectacle movies, just as it was in the comic books. Something meant to be more grounded and human like "The Last of Us" requires Joel to be human (and also vulnerable) so we don't need to see him jacked up to take on mushroom zombies.

Yeah, there's an expectation that everyone looks like they spend a few hours a day at the gym even if it doesn't match the characters or the context.

[Fridays]

Interesting thing about Bond, I don't think he was really intended to be particularly buff. Fleming's description was basically Hoagy Carmichael with some scars, including a long one on his face (Visible mostly in comic adaptations).


Connery was actually a champion bodybuilder in the 50s but got progressively out of shape over the course of the Bond films, with this most evident in DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER. Funny thing is, apart from a few extra wrinkles and gray hair he actually looks somewhat younger body-wise in NEVER SAY NEVER AGAIN since he actually got fit for that.

Bond is a classic male character of Tall, Dark and Handsome. All 6 actors who have played bond subjectively and objectively have met this requirements. If you remove those traits, you loose the character.

I think Jason Alaxander from Seinfeld is an amazing actor but the reality is that I will never cast him as Bond. I may not even cast Tom Cruise as Bond either as he is not over 6 foot.

[ChrisIII]

^True. Just saying I think the novels didn't really mean to have him be super muscular but a little more hard-boiled and battle-scarred. Kind of a bit physically more

Interesting thing about the Terminator sequels, pretty much every requirement for a new Terminator is that they're in some way the anti-arnold. Apart from the one scene in GENEYSIS all the bad Terminators have been far thinner but with more advanced technology.

[Kirby101]

But there is a big difference between in shape and cut to look like they have 3% body fat.

That scene in TGM was reshot because the incredibly in shape actors did not look cut and buff enough. It is become a ridiculous ideal that has nothing to do with being in shape.

[numberthirty]

Bond is a classic male character of Tall, Dark and Handsome. All 6 actors who have played bond subjectively and objectively have met this requirements. If you remove those traits, you loose the character.

I think Jason Alaxander from Seinfeld is an amazing actor but the reality is that I will never cast him as Bond. I may not even cast Tom Cruise as Bond either as he is not over 6 foot.

Dalton/Brosnan are both literally whiter than a jar of Hellman's.

So, no. All six have not met those requirements(which is allowing for that they are even requirements...) either "Subjectively..." or "Objectively..."

[numberthirty]

Never mind that more than six actors have actually played James Bond...

[Fridays]

Dalton/Brosnan are both literally whiter than a jar of Hellman's.

So, no. All six have not met those requirements(which is allowing for that they are even requirements...) either "Subjectively..." or "Objectively..."

Subjectively they all did thank you.

[numberthirty]

Subjectively they all did thank you.

Even taking a "Subjective..." look at it, right around "Nobody..." is going to take a look at a pair of white guys that pasty and tell you "Yep, tall/dark/handsome..."

Because those guys are about as "Not Dark..." as a person can get without being Daniel Ash or Robert Smith.

[Nate Grey]

Dalton/Brosnan are both literally whiter than a jar of Hellman's.

I always took that saying to mean hair, not skin. Dark as in not blonde.

Interestingly, I think Fleming's original description of Bond was blonde.