Body by Bradley: The Beefication of Hollywood

Published on Monday, July 05 2010

Written by Wes Ferguson

Always adorable Bradley Cooper transformed into a rock stolid stud, getting super pumped to become a member on The A-Team.

For the movie, "I had to literally transform my body," Bradley tells Details.

In the end, he says he didn't even recognize himself. "There's this one fight scene with Liam Neeson toward the end, where it's, like, the apex of the work ... I swear to God, it looked like my head was digitally superimposed onto someone else's body."

Ultimately, Bradley became a thing of fantasy. Yours. Mine. His! "As a kid I only fantasized about looking that way. Remember Soloflex commercials? That was huge when I was a kid. It was like, 'I wanna be the Soloflex guy. Mom, can we get the Soloflex?'"

To train up to the A-Team, Bradley cut out sugar, salt and flour; plus he worked out two hours a day with a trainer.

When it comes to lifestyle trends, being uber-fit is the Hollywood norm. It sends a message, but is it the right one? Some suggest that both men and women have unattainable standards in the media, but couldn’t there be worse things than a nation of fit people, rather than the reality of an obesity epidemic?

I try to keep it on the reals by always emphasizing realistic goals. But dare I suggest that if you dream it, you can be it? Keep in mind that, while extreme, anyone willing to make the sacrifice will reap the rewards.

“The whole idea of training oneself into great shape has completely embedded itself in the culture now,” says the L.A. Times’ Betsy Sharkey. “Look at ‘The Biggest Loser,’ with its obese contestants turning into stars as they get into shape.

“But as obsessions go, you could do worse than having fitness, and the training it takes to get close to perfection, at the top of your addiction list.”