Much of HBO’s The Franchise is focused on how stressful it is to be behind the camera of a massive superhero blockbuster: wrangling studio expectations, trying to keep things under budget, and preserving what little artistic satisfaction remains. But one of the elements of the series that often goes overlooked is what it’s like to be in front of the camera. That does make sense — the series is about the unsung heroes, not the literal heroes.
But in The Franchise Episode 3, we got a glimpse of the perils of being a superheroic actor, one that highlights one of the most notorious rumors — and problems — surrounding superhero movies today.
While Anita (Aya Cash) and Eric (Daniel Brühl) are busy trying to solve Maximum Pictures’ “woman problem,” star of Tecto: Eye of the Storm Adam (Billy Magnussen) is dealing with a bit of a man problem. He’s seen what other Maximum stars look like and he feels like his physique doesn’t meet the mark, describing the ideal “look” as “a refrigerator carrying a television set.”
So to attain the body he deems camera-worthy, he’s taking a bunch of medication of dubious effectiveness and legality, courtesy of a new doctor. “I really like the guy a lot, but he has his own cryptocurrency, and I'm just like, you're not focused, brah,” Adam says.
Said multi-hyphenate doctor has put Adam on a hormone, Ovitropin, that’s meant for fattening up sheep. As a way to avoid unwanted breast growth, he’s cutting it with an experimental breast cancer drug. “The official line is avocados, lots of crunches,” Daniel (Himesh Patel) reminds him, but that doesn’t sway Adam from being convinced he’s growing sheep-like wool. (Paranoia is also another side effect of his medication).
This echoes real-life chatter surrounding the sudden, often dramatic transformation of Marvel actors. Take, for example, Guardians of the Galaxy’s Chris Pratt and Eternals’ Kumail Nanjiani: both were comedic actors and sitcom stars, but when they secured a Marvel role, morphed into chiseled action stars. Was that all natural, or the symptom of a little... performance-enhancing help?
In the book MCU: The Reign of Marvel Studios, expert Dr. Todd Schroeder from the University of Southern California Clinical Exercise Research Center at the USC Division of Biokinesiology and Physical Therapy suggests that “50 to 75 percent” use performance enhancement drugs in order to prepare for a role. However, that’s not the only line of defense. “A lot of actors won’t talk about it openly,” he said, “But they will work with a physician as well as a nutritionist and a trainer, and it’s a team.”
There’s no proof that any Marvel actors have used PEDs, but the rumors persist, insisting that transformations like those can’t be natural. But while it may not be natural for normal people with lives and careers, Marvel actors have unrivaled support. “The most important thing is that your mental and physical health has to be number one, and the aesthetic goals have to be secondary, otherwise you end up promoting something that is unhealthy and unrealistic if you don’t have the financial backing of a studio paying for your meals and training,” Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 star Will Poulter told The Independent. “I’m in a very privileged position in that respect, and I wouldn’t recommend anyone do what I did to get ready for that job.”
So what those actors are ingesting may still be a mystery, but it’s a harsh reminder that no matter what they are doing, it’s by no means something expected or even possible for the layman — they’re the exception, by no means the rule.
