Body Builders Turned Actors

Reeves developed his interest in body building in high school but his early adult life was interrupted by world war 2, during which time he served as a soldier in Philippines. 

After the war, Reeves went on to study acting while competing in body building competitions. It was his acting career that took off, even though his first love was body building. 

Reeves acted in no less than 17 films, before retiring. And even in his retirement, he pursued his love for body building, by publishing the books “Building the Classic Physique - The Natural Way”, and “Dynamic Muscle Building”. 

As a body builder, Ferrigno won an IFBB Mr. America title and two consecutive IFBB Mr. Universe titles, and even featured in the bodybuilding documentary “Pumping Iron”.  Ferrigno cited Hercules star Steve Reeves as his idol, and claimed to be a star of the movie too, a movie that he himself later went on to be the leading character in.

Another interesting fact is that Ferrigno used to train with Arnold Schwarzenegger and they used to compete together. In fact, in his documentary “Pumping Iron”, Ferrigno shed light on 1975 IFBB Mr. Universe and Mr. Olympia competitions and his battle for the chamionships against Schwarzenegger.

Schwarzengger’s career in body building started when he was 15. By 20, he won his first title, “Mr. Universe”. He won this title a total of 7 times! Schwarzenegger even went on to compete in the Olympics for weightlifting!

In the movie industry, Schwarzenegger met with equal success, staring in the hugely popular “The Terminator”, 1984. In total, Schwarzenegger has made more than 20 films to date.

In 2003, Schwarzenegger replaced the then governor of California Grayy Davis, lasting for just 2 years. Schwarzenegger got back into politics again in 2006.