Former Mr Universe to play Arnold Schwarzenegger in upcoming biopic.
Currently in production is director George Gallo’s, Bigger which tells the story of the flamboyant and often extraordinary lives of Joe and Ben Weider. The Weider brothers were major players in the fitness revolution of the 1950s and 1960s and were the founders of the Mr Olympia bodybuilding contest.
Tyler Hoechlin, who recently took on the role of Superman in the Supergirl TV show, will play Joe Weider alongside Aneurin Barnard, who was recently seen in Christopher Nolan’s Dunkirk who plays his brother Ben.
The two brothers are generally considered to be the Godfathers of professional bodybuilding and were instrumental in bringing Arnold Schwarzenegger to the USA which resulted in him winning the title seven times prior to becoming the worlds biggest action film star. Obviously this caused Gallo a problem when trying to find an actor to take on the role. So how do you go about casting a former Mr Universe? Well you look to other former Mr Universe winners, which is exactly what they did and in steps 2014 Mr Universe winner, Calum Von Moger.
Von Moger will be making his first credited acting performance in the movie and his physique at least matches that of the 1970s version of Arnold and it seems that The Terminator star is very much an influence on him according to his website;
“Skinny and not very strong, Calum’s fitness goal at that time was to catch up to his older brother who was bigger and stronger than he was. His days were spent training, watching Pumping Iron, eating cans of tuna and whole chickens and hitting the beach, all while attending high school.
Schwarzenegger became his primary source of inspiration, the physiques of the 1970’s were the epitome of body building for Calum. Taking inspiration from these body building icons, Calum is driven with a strong ambition to create a customized classic physique that is all his own.”
There are are a lot of parallels in that statement with Arnold’s own backstory. Schwarzenegger famously spent his youth in his older brother’s shadow and has stated in interviews that he would often feel that he had to fight for his parent’s approval. He recently disclosed to Hello magazine that his father would regularly beat him as a child and his mother was convinced that he was gay due to his interest in bodybuilding;
“She asked the doctor, ‘Can you help me? I don’t know if there’s something wrong with my son because his wall is full of naked men. All of Arnold’s friends have pictures of girls above their bed. And Arnold has no girls.'”
Bigger is currently in production and is set for release some time in 2018.
Sources; Hello, Deadline, Men’s Health