Despite Starring In Incredible Hulk and Hercules, Lou Ferrigno once Regretted Not playing an Iconic Role That Shaped His Childhood

71-year-old Lou Ferrigno rightfully balances fitness and acting. The retired IFBB bodybuilder became famous for multiple reasons during his time. His performance in the superhit film, The Hulk stole hearts. Besides The Hulk, Lou was inspired to play a highly intellectual character on screen.

Lou Ferrigno won the IFBB Mr.Universe for two consecutive years. One of his career’s biggest highlights was Mr.Olympia. After winning the Mr.Universe title, Lou participated in the prestigious competition immediately the next year. In 1975, he competed against Arnold Schwarzenegger, which became the key subject in the documentary, Pumping Iron as tried to defeat him. But does he have regrets? Yes, he does.

What more did Lou Ferrigno want to play on-screen?

Lou Ferrigno became the audience’s favorite with his performance in The Hulk. Playing the lead of a giant green monster, he brought the comic character to life. However, characters as serious as James Bond highly inspired Lou. Lou was a huge fan of the first James Bond, Sean Connery. Although he wanted to play an intellectual character, it never came his way.

In an interview at MCM London in 2017 where he was promoting his latest film Instant Death, Lou stated, “When I was young, I loved James Bond and Sean Connery. He was suave, he was an agent and he was intelligent. Those are the sort of characters I liked.”

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Furthermore, he expressed that he was blown away by seeing a muscular character like Hercules on screen. However, he regretted not playing James Bond on-0screen. Ferrigno shared, “I got the chance to play Hercules, but films like the Bond films, they’re like my new film Instant Death. Those are the characters that affected me most when I was younger.”

Initially, Lou Fee was not the first name to be considered under The Incredible Hulk cast. Previously, seven-time Mr.Olympia Arnold Schwarzenegger was considered for the character. Owing to his huge size, he could not be a good fit. Later, the makers called Lou on the set. They painted his body green and asked him to pose like a monster. Finally, Lou got the role just by posing.

Ferrigno all set to appear in a horror movie

Lou continues to balance bodybuilding and acting like a bro. He might have retired from the sport, but he has his own line of fitness equipment called Ferrigno Fitness. Besides, Lou is still an actor.

Earlier, in 2022, he made headlines with his upcoming horror movie, The Hermit. The retired bodybuilder will play a murderous cannibalistic pig farmer.

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