The 10 Most Badass Summer Blockbuster Stars of All Time
These stars hit the gym hard and often to bring their best physique to the summer screen to portray absolute badasses in these high-octane, action-packed blockbusters.
The 10 Most Badass Summer Blockbuster Stars of All Time
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Blockbuster Basics
What’s not to love about blockbusters? They have girls, action, and main characters whom ladies want and men want to be. But looking the part takes serious work. Which is why, in honor of summer (prime blockbuster time), we curated a list of our favorite blockbuster stars who brought serious acting chops, grit, and plenty of muscle to the silver screen.Here’s what makes a blockbuster deserving of the name (by M&F standards):According to Merriam-Webster, blockbuster is defined as “notably expensive, effective, successful, large, or extravagant.” But because that’s too vague for our liking, M&F established some guidelines to help further narrow down our summer blockbuster selects. Here they are:Must have grossed more than $200 million worldwide (adjusted for inflation).Must have been released between May and September.Must be jam-packed with action—fights, explosions, and so on.The star had to train hard to look the part.Click through for some of our all-time favorite badass blockbuster stars.
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Michael Ochs Archives / Getty
Sylvester Stallone in ‘Rambo: First Blood Part II’
Released: May 22, 1985Raked in: $683 millionAt a time when muscle was a must for action stars, Stallone still went above and beyond by bringing a physique that would fare as well on an IFBB stage as it would in the jungles of Vietnam. To prepare for the role, Stallone trained for eight months, four hours a day, with weights. He also took combat and survival courses, and trained with a SWAT team to make the character even more believable.
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Sunset Boulevard / Getty
Tom Cruise in ‘Top Gun’
Released: May 16, 1986Raked in: $796 millionCruise played Maverick, a young hotshot, womanizing pilot training at the Navy’s Fighter Weapons School. To prep, Cruise flew with the Blue Angels, taking on more than nine G’s of force, and clearly kept his training and diet on track for the now famous volleyball scene. The movie propelled Cruise to the A-list. We wonder if Cruise, now in his 50s, will go shirtless in the recently announced Top Gun sequel?
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Murray Close / Getty
Brad Pitt in ‘Troy’
Released: May 14, 2004Raked in: $644 millionBulking up to a lean 185lbs for Troy (a far cry from the 155-lb physique he’s famous for in Fight Club) was just one element of Pitt’s preparation. In addition to the training and sword-fighting lessons he underwent, Pitt also studied Greek mythology extensively and practiced speaking with a Greek accent daily.
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Elisabetta Villa / Getty
Ben Stiller in ‘Tropic Thunder’
Released: Aug. 13, 2008Raked in: $214 millionStiller was on triple duty as the director, writer, and star of this action-packed piece of comedy gold. The funnyman got serious by getting super-ripped to play satirical action star Tugg Speedman, who is sent to the wilds of Vietnam in an effort to bring realism to his war film. Even though the movie was fake, those guns (the ones hanging from his sleeves, we mean), were real. And for that, Stiller gets props.
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Frazer Harrison / Getty
Jake Gyllenhaal in ‘Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time’
Released: May 28, 2010Raked in: $377 millionTo play Dastan, a dual-sword-wielding, parkour-running prince of Persia, Gyllenhaal went all in. The bulk of his days were spent training in fight choreography and parkour, a full-body workout in itself. But then Gyllenhaal would retreat to the gym to forge the physique you see above, dropping his body fat to the mere single digits, training his entire body each time.
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Simon James / Getty
Chris Hemsworth in ‘Thor’
Released: May 6, 2011Raked in: $488 millionLooking like a Norse god doesn’t happen overnight, nor is it easy. Which is why Hemsworth and his trainer, ex-Navy SEAL Duffy Gaver, followed a no-frills template for packing on size: heavy weights, with basic compound exercises like dumbbell presses and pullups, and a diet of red meat, veggies, and protein powder. By the time Hemsworth picked up Thor’s hammer, he’d packed on 20lbs of mass.
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Astrid Stawiarz / Getty
The Hulk in ‘The Avengers’
Released: May 4, 2012Raked in: $1.6 billionOK, so maybe the Hulk doesn’t have to train to achieve his 1,200-lb lean physique, but he made the list anyway. The dude can jump hundreds of miles in a single bound, extinguish fires with a clap of his hands, survive a nuclear explosion, and breathe underwater. Oh, and his strength, because it’s dictated by his emotional state, is limitless.
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Per Bernal
Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson in ‘Fast & Furious 6’
Released: May 24, 2013Raked in: $827 million”The Rock” is the human manifestation of “savage”. The man is up every day at 4 a.m. to hit the StairMaster. Then, after shoveling 5,000 calories worth of cod, eggs, steak, and rice down his gullet, he’s back in the gym to hit the weights hard. His routine is consistent for all his roles, but the physique he brought to Fast & Furious 6 is his best combination of lean and mean.
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Jun Sato / Getty
Hugh Jackman in ‘The Wolverine’
Released: July 26, 2013Raked in: $435 millionApparently, Hugh Jackman ages like fine wine—and the rest of us like cottage cheese. After portraying Wolverine for two decades, he brings a bigger, more shredded version of the clawed mutant. Every. Single. Time. For the 2013 origin film, the 44-year-old Jackman consumed steak, steak, and more steak, and worked out five times a week, regularly using compound lifts like deadlifts and back squats.
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Dave Bautista in ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’
Released: Aug. 1, 2014Raked in: $799 millionDave Bautista is never out of shape, and that’s why he’s on this list. Whether biking, training with mixed martial arts, or pumping iron, he’s always active. But to play Marvel’s Drax the Destroyer, Bautista packed even more size onto his already-massive frame—at age 45, we should add—by upping his caloric intake, and focusing on brutal bodybuilding-style training.
What’s not to love about blockbusters? They have girls, action, and main characters whom ladies want and men want to be. But looking the part takes serious work. Which is why, in honor of summer (prime blockbuster time), we curated a list of our favorite blockbuster stars who brought serious acting chops, grit, and plenty of muscle to the silver screen.
Here’s what makes a blockbuster deserving of the name (by M&F standards):
According to Merriam-Webster, blockbuster is defined as “notably expensive, effective, successful, large, or extravagant.” But because that’s too vague for our liking, M&F established some guidelines to help further narrow down our summer blockbuster selects. Here they are:
Must have grossed more than $200 million worldwide (adjusted for inflation).
Must have been released between May and September.
Must be jam-packed with action—fights, explosions, and so on.
The star had to train hard to look the part.
Click through for some of our all-time favorite badass blockbuster stars.
Sylvester Stallone in 'Rambo: First Blood Part II'
Released: May 22, 1985
Raked in: $683 million
At a time when muscle was a must for action stars, Stallone still went above and beyond by bringing a physique that would fare as well on an IFBB stage as it would in the jungles of Vietnam. To prepare for the role, Stallone trained for eight months, four hours a day, with weights. He also took combat and survival courses, and trained with a SWAT team to make the character even more believable.
Tom Cruise in 'Top Gun'
Released: May 16, 1986
Raked in: $796 million
Cruise played Maverick, a young hotshot, womanizing pilot training at the Navy’s Fighter Weapons School. To prep, Cruise flew with the Blue Angels, taking on more than nine G’s of force, and clearly kept his training and diet on track for the now famous volleyball scene. The movie propelled Cruise to the A-list. We wonder if Cruise, now in his 50s, will go shirtless in the recently announced Top Gun sequel?
Brad Pitt in 'Troy'
Released: May 14, 2004
Raked in: $644 million
Bulking up to a lean 185lbs for Troy (a far cry from the 155-lb physique he’s famous for in Fight Club) was just one element of Pitt’s preparation. In addition to the training and sword-fighting lessons he underwent, Pitt also studied Greek mythology extensively and practiced speaking with a Greek accent daily.
Ben Stiller in 'Tropic Thunder'
Released: Aug. 13, 2008
Raked in: $214 million
Stiller was on triple duty as the director, writer, and star of this action-packed piece of comedy gold. The funnyman got serious by getting super-ripped to play satirical action star Tugg Speedman, who is sent to the wilds of Vietnam in an effort to bring realism to his war film. Even though the movie was fake, those guns (the ones hanging from his sleeves, we mean), were real. And for that, Stiller gets props.
Jake Gyllenhaal in 'Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time'
Released: May 28, 2010
Raked in: $377 million
To play Dastan, a dual-sword-wielding, parkour-running prince of Persia, Gyllenhaal went all in. The bulk of his days were spent training in fight choreography and parkour, a full-body workout in itself. But then Gyllenhaal would retreat to the gym to forge the physique you see above, dropping his body fat to the mere single digits, training his entire body each time.
Chris Hemsworth in 'Thor'
Released: May 6, 2011
Raked in: $488 million
Looking like a Norse god doesn’t happen overnight, nor is it easy. Which is why Hemsworth and his trainer, ex-Navy SEAL Duffy Gaver, followed a no-frills template for packing on size: heavy weights, with basic compound exercises like dumbbell presses and pullups, and a diet of red meat, veggies, and protein powder. By the time Hemsworth picked up Thor’s hammer, he’d packed on 20lbs of mass.
The Hulk in 'The Avengers'
Released: May 4, 2012
Raked in: $1.6 billion
OK, so maybe the Hulk doesn’t have to train to achieve his 1,200-lb lean physique, but he made the list anyway. The dude can jump hundreds of miles in a single bound, extinguish fires with a clap of his hands, survive a nuclear explosion, and breathe underwater. Oh, and his strength, because it’s dictated by his emotional state, is limitless.
Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson in 'Fast & Furious 6'
Released: May 24, 2013
Raked in: $827 million
“The Rock” is the human manifestation of “savage”. The man is up every day at 4 a.m. to hit the StairMaster. Then, after shoveling 5,000 calories worth of cod, eggs, steak, and rice down his gullet, he’s back in the gym to hit the weights hard. His routine is consistent for all his roles, but the physique he brought to Fast & Furious 6 is his best combination of lean and mean.
Hugh Jackman in 'The Wolverine'
Released: July 26, 2013
Raked in: $435 million
Apparently, Hugh Jackman ages like fine wine—and the rest of us like cottage cheese. After portraying Wolverine for two decades, he brings a bigger, more shredded version of the clawed mutant. Every. Single. Time. For the 2013 origin film, the 44-year-old Jackman consumed steak, steak, and more steak, and worked out five times a week, regularly using compound lifts like deadlifts and back squats.
Dave Bautista in 'Guardians of the Galaxy'
Released: Aug. 1, 2014
Raked in: $799 million
Dave Bautista is never out of shape, and that’s why he’s on this list. Whether biking, training with mixed martial arts, or pumping iron, he’s always active. But to play Marvel’s Drax the Destroyer, Bautista packed even more size onto his already-massive frame—at age 45, we should add—by upping his caloric intake, and focusing on brutal bodybuilding-style training.
