Don’t worry, Brett Goldstein is trying to get more Marvel jacked
The Ted Lasso actor only found out about his new role two weeks before shooting
Aux News Brett Goldstein
[This post contains spoilers for Thor: Love And Thunder]
Every new entry in the Marvel Cinematic Universe can’t wrap up without a hint at what’s next, and Thor: Love And Thunder was no exception. The latest movie in the franchise saw the return of Natalie Portman as Jane Foster after she and the Asgardian god parted ways before the events of Thor: Ragnarok, but it also introduced a notable new face: Brett Goldstein as Hercules.
After Thor, Jane, and Valkyrie left a path of destruction in their wake in Omnipotence City, Zeus (Russell Crowe) charges his son with pursuing revenge in a post-credits sequence. This promises that we’ll be seeing Hercules again, but some viewers thought that his first appearance could have been more impressive, finding the Ted Lasso actor a bit too svelte for a Greco-Roman god in a series known for flaunting bulging biceps and washboard abs, amongst other body parts.
It turns out that there’s a good reason why Goldstein didn’t hit the gym more: he only found out about his new role two weeks before shooting his cameo. In a new interview with The Playlist, the fast-rising comedy star shared more details about getting the gig.
“Yeah, when I spoke to [director Taika Waititi], I said, ‘You know I’m basically like a skinny comedian?’” Goldstein recalls. “I said, ‘When is this filming?’ It was like in two weeks, and I was like, ‘I mean, I’ll do my best, but two weeks feels…’ I said, ‘He doesn’t have to be as big as Thor, does he?’ And look, on the day, I mean, I’m doing 400 pushups that day. I was fit to explode. I did the best I could on that day, yeah.”
Of course, Goldstein’s most famous role is a professional athlete, so he’s probably selling himself a little short, and there’s also a limit as to how much an actual human can resemble a comic book hero.
“I’m going to eat 30 chickens a day from now on; it will be fine,” he continues.
Goldstein won an Emmy for Ted Lasso last year and is nominated again this year. The first two seasons of Ted Lasso are now streaming on Apple TV+, with the third and final installment now in production.
49 Comments
maybe they should start using more CGI for that stuff, this can’t be healthy to get buffer so quick like they do
oh don’t worry they’ll cgi it, too.
If you don’t think they CGI that Thor butt…
If they can do a moustache they can do a bicep.
But…can they do a mustache?
I’d suggest that it turns out they couldn’t do a mustache.
Lol, ok. They made it disappear. So a moustache in reverse.If the cgi was awful I didn’t notice, but then I’m not very fussy and I didn’t see the flick on IMAX (whereas my partner is a pixel-counter).
I think for his seconds of screen time they could have used CGI to buff him up in the hopes that he will do the work between now and his next appearance. I would have forgiven that as an audience member.
They don’t need CGI, they’ve had practical effects that look completely natural for years now
I’m sure every VFX artist out there dreams about it.
I really do wonder if this is the next step in contract negotiations. They tell Hemsworth or Chris Evans when they inevitably try to get him back that they will use CGI.
I don’t care about any of this but I’m obsessed with this guy’s forehead
Russell Crowe misread his memo. He ate 400 Pop-Tarts.
Don’t they come in 2 packs?So 800 Pop-Tarts?
Oh, thank god, I was terrified Goldstein wasn’t going to put himself through a grueling, ultimately unsustainable and unhealthful training regimen purely for the gratification of seeing his eight pack for a 5-second shirtless scene.
Did Kumail have a shirtless scene in The Eternals?
Nope. And the costumes were not even that form fitting. All the work out did was make him have a weird looking head
I mean if your company is providing you a trainer and nutritionist to get in “the best shape of your life?” Why not?**Granted this is probably for people like Kumail who’ve never been a beefcake ever and hopes of more leading roles now aesthetically pleasing. Your Hemsworths and MBJ… not so much
If I’m not mistaken, the director didn’t even ask/want Kumail to get ripped. That was something he decided on himself, and I recall an interview where he showed up jacked and was worried the people on the production would be pissed at him.
also noone asked him to get ripped. apparently zhao was shocked when he showed up on set. which makes it like 2x funnier.
That is a great gag.
not sure why I should care about the sustainability of his training regimen
“Sustainable” as in that body type is impossible to sustain without working out for 4 hours a day and eating only poached chicken breast for the rest of your life. I guess “maintainable” would’ve been a better word.
we now (kinda) recognize the issue with body standards for women but people seem to forget it’s just as bad and unhealthy for men too
I think there’s still a lot more awareness of male body standards in Hollywood than female ones, though they’re much closer to parity than ever before. There are stories about De Niro in Raging Bull and Christian Bale in The Machinist and even later in Vice. It’s always been fairly acknowledged that these transformations take a heavy toll on the body. And the extreme cutting necessary to achieve the specific superhero look has been documented since X-Men at least.Kumail was actually pretty open about the process, acknowledging that it absolutely is not a sustainable sort of lifestyle, and he only did it because it was a prime opportunity to do so, and he was afforded the means to do it by the studio/being a famous rich dude.
Could I have that poached chicken breast with lemon and basil, please? And a side salad of spring mixed lettuce, if it’s not too much trouble?And a daily serving of two cups of Ellenos yogurt, just to keep my spirits up?
Get the team that made/makes Homelander’s suit to make him one, too. Herc can be modest…maybe a god that visted the Mediterranean isn’t ready for Norse winters and has to keep covered up?
Marvel’s Hercules is notorious for how LITTLE clothing he wears. The most he’s covered his chest up is with a vest in his second 1980s miniseries: Which even that is open down to the belt. Only in recent years have they bothered to TRY and put him in long pants, once more. The brown pants are a few years old, which is what the MCU costume leans toward, and I think the green/yellow outfit is his most recent look in Guardians of the Galaxy?Beyond that, his classic look is a waist wrap and/or speedo with H-harness or bandolier and leather straps for boots. He’s pretty casual about his body, and Marvel has even acknowledged his history of bisexuality in recent years, admitting he and Canada’s Northstar had a fling once. or thrice. Then there’s that whole Herc+Sheriff Logan romance from Exiles….There’s another panel reinforcing their mutual love of leather, btw….
“The brown pants are a few years old”I think those are chaps.
Nope. Marvel was *trying* to clean his image up for The Mouse, so gave him pants. and a codpiece. and a manbun. and a huge honking sword along with his mace.yup.
Ah, okay, in the photo above it looks like flesh color on the thighs. I found other images where it’s clearer.The codpiece would make a bit more sense if it *were* assless chaps, however. Maybe it was going to be chaps but they had to change it.
Yeah, the lighter tan on inside thighs has thrown more than a few people off. Likely why the new Guardians suit is green?
Aren’t all chaps assless?
I’m still going to have a hard time seeing anything but Roy Kent, but I mean, I love Brett Goldstein. Plus: I’ve begun to appreciate how good a job he’s done with Roy even more, since I started listening to his podcast Films to be Buried With. He’s such a sweet, happy-sounding guy and just comes across as being delighted by life in that podcast.
didn’t know he had a podcast. Thanks, subscribing now.
It’s excellent. His latest episode had Zach Braff on, and it was a great conversation. Brett is hilarious and just delightful.
I’d also recommend the Bill Hader, Mark Frost, Rachel Bloom and Russell T. Davies episodes, all of which were a great insight in to the movies they love.
I’m perfectly fine with imagining Roy Kent as Zeus’ son.
I understand he’s here, he’s there, he’s every fucking where….
Brett Goldstein needs to bulk up for this so we can see him and Hemsworth play off eachother as two goofy meatheads from different worlds in Thor 5.
“I’m going to eat 30 chickens a day from now on; it will be fine,” he continues.I don’t know how it took so long for me to realize, but Brett Goldstein’s whole persona is just like a hot version of Sandor Clegane, isn’t he?
On the bright side, you have an advantage when the last point of comparison is Kevin Sorbo. I could care less about his politics, but casting Kevin Sorbo as Hercules is like casting Twiggy as Mae West.
If Russel Crowe didn’t have to get in shape, why complain about Goldstein being too svelte?Where are the people complaining that Crowe was way too out of shape for a Zeus(granted, a hedonistic and an orgy and wine focused Zeus it seems).And if we do allow Crowe’s hedonistic, orgy and wine focused Zeus to be out of shape, why would people think Hercules wouldn’t suffer from the same preoccupations as his father, who demands gods that are in Omnipotent City stay in Omnipotent City, where it sounds like orgies and wine drinking(and possibly other hedonism) is the norm.TLDR: Give me more Brian Tyree Henry being himself while playing Phastos than other actors feeling that they have to be and then become golden Adonises for a movie role. Especially a 3-5 second movie role.Although to be fair Hemsworth is on my, “I’m not, but if I was…” list, and not just because he seems like a fun guy. Dude is disgustingly hunk-tastic.
He shouldn’t have to.
Sure, he plays a professional athlete. But, c’mon, he’s playing a soccer player.What’s going to happen in the movie, someone tries to punch Hercules, misses by three feet (1 meter), and he falls down and pretends to be hurt while everyone else takes a water break?
OK, I admire his commitment… but Henry Cavill already has the body.
Pfft… body double. If they could make RDJ look like a teen-ager in Winter Soldier, they can figure out how to put Goldstein’s head on the body of a Mr. Universe contestant who’s the same height as Goldstein.
Marvel’s Hercules needs to become a hero.