“Magazine Dreams” follows a bodybuilder whose quest for stardom turns toxic as his workout obsession threatens to damage his body. It’s ironic that a film about this topic would require its star to employ such drastic measures for the sake of his own transformation, and in an interview with Deadline, Majors said that the diet and exercise regimen wasn’t exactly easy for him: “The bodybuilding, changing the body, it’s the hardest thing I’ve ever done in my life.”
He recalled the isolation of days filled with workouts and meals, saying, “You are pacing up and down your apartment, force-feeding yourself the food you need to grow. That isolation and physical commitment does breed a certain amount of emotionality, and distance.” Yet he also described what sounds like an emotional breakthrough that came when bench pressing, saying, “That weight is no longer 310 or whatever. It’s not that anymore. It’s abandonment, my own stuff, my dad issues, my insecurities.”
Hollywood’s crash diets have resulted in some notoriously intense results, with actors like Tom Hardy and Tom Holland speaking openly about the adverse effects of taking on drastic eating and exercise regimens for roles. But it sounds like Majors may have found a happy medium for himself after the shoot ended. The actor tells Variety he’s cut back, but still stays active playing football, hiking, and getting outside with his dogs. “I don’t work out three times a day anymore. Just once a day,” he says.
“Magazine Dreams” is currently screening at the Sundance Film Festival.