Guy Pearce is no stranger to having his shirt off for a flick but he's usually looking pretty skinny. I remember thinking he had a pretty solid but slim build in 2000's Memento and wasn't surprised when I learned he had done some bodybuilding as a teenager. His mom would take him to the gym and while she took a swim, Guy was pumping weights and doing circuit training. That lead to winning a local contest at age 16 but nothing much more came of it. Cut to 2012 and after years of headlining some really random movies and embodying eclectic roles like L.A. Confidential, Ravenous, The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Dessert and Bedtime Stories, Pearce went full action hero mode for Lockout.
More or less a sci-fi mash up of Escape From New York and Die Hard, Lockout didn't light the box office on fire but remains a visually interesting and entertaining action flick. Having just played a vain playboy in The King's Speech, Pearce's Snow is a vast change of pace being a smart ass anti-hero type, a guy who has a quip for every question and walks around with some yoked out pipes. There's fist fights, space fights, shootouts and one liners galore. Nearly every piece of press on the film focused on Pearce's transformation. In an age when getting in shape lands you lead roles (hello, Chris Pratt), I was surprised Pearce didn't land on the cover of Men's Health, Fitness, Journal, Diary whatever talking about bulking up. Maybe he did but I didn't see it on the ol' internets.
While definitive workout plans remain elusive, Pearce constantly referred to his youth in the gym and muscle memory coming into play. The only real details gleaned are that he spent a month prior to shooting hitting the weights after directors and writers James Mather and Stephen St. Leger dubbed him a bit skinny. While on location in Serbia for the 3 month shoot, Pearce says he worked out 5 days a week in the gym and consumed lots of protein powder and local meat. Like fellow actors Ryan Reynolds and Daniel Craig, Pearce has some great genetics and a build that easily accommodated an extra 20 pounds of beef. Pearce did many of his own stunts, hanging from wires, getting burnt by a ricochet shell casing and roughing around with stunt guys who all compared him (unfavorably) to Gerard Butler who had just left town. Apparently Pearce didn't lift as much weight or drink as much booze or party as late as Butler.
Pearce is in shape again for the just released Results, a weird, pseudo romantic comedy about personal trainers. He looks great in the flick, muscular and cut with the extra weight in his face taking away some of that menacing angular-ness. Again, working out was a key topic for promotion but Pearce again chalked it up his past in the fitness realm but worked on upping his cardio for the running scenes. Having buffed up for the under performing Lockout and already appearing in a comic book movie as a villain in Iron Man 3, we'll see what next role will find the 47 year old Australian hitting the weights next for.
