Hollywood superstars and acclaimed actors Christian Bale and Tom Hardy shared the screen in The Dark Knight Rises (2012). While Bale has been part of the trilogy since Batman Begins, Hardy joined the cast as the menacing Bane. While Nolan created a realist take on the over-the-top comic book villain, Hardy still had to put on considerable muscle. Similarly, in 2005, Christain Bale put on the pounds in a short span of time. A recent video highlighted the actors’ bodybuilding and fitness transformation on YouTube.

The video contains snippets of interviews from both actors and Nolan, highlighting their insane transformation. However, after hearing the actors describe their workout and diet routine, fitness enthusiasts didn’t praise them. Instead, they did the opposite and discounted the actors for one reason.

Hard work and diet, or something extra?

In the clip compilation video Outstanding Screenplays posted on YouTube, the actors roughly described their workout routine and diet. The Batman Begins actor said Nolan told him to get as big as he could. When the offer to star as Batman came, Bale had just finished shooting The Machinist (2004) and weighed a little over 173 lbs. Bales said how Nolan’s call motivated him.

“He did call and say… How am I gonna convince Warner Bro. that you could play Batman ever?” said the 49-year-old actor. So he began eating a calorie-dense diet and worked out incredibly hard. To transform himself into the character of Bane, Tom Hardy took a similar approach to gaining muscle and weight. In addition to consuming a large quantity of chicken and carbs, he also incorporated ice cream into his diet during a process known as “dirty bulking.”

Bale’s 45-year-old fellow British actor also hinted lighting and camera trickery made him look bigger. However, both actors put on a considerable amount of weight for their roles. Tom Hardy said he put on “three stones (43 lbs) in five weeks,” while Bale reached 220 lbs before filming began. However, fitness enthusiasts, today didn’t seem impressed and hinted that the actors used PEDs for their bodybuilding transformation.

The fitness world has become better informed 

The Dark Knight Rises was released over a decade ago, and many things have changed. Besides the fitness industry becoming transparent, filmstars using PEDs for quick transformations have become an almost open secret. “Steroids were harmed in the making of Batman,” wrote one informed user. Another said Tom Hardy skipped mentioning PEDs while talking about his diet. “Tom Hardy just went bonkers and ate a lot of roids,” he wrote.

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“‘Chicken and broccoli,’ code names for steroids in Hollywood,” wrote one user, since almost every actor says they eat chicken, broccoli, and rice to get ripped. “Let’s not act like they weren’t also using steroids millions of $ go into these movies,” said another fitness enthusiast.

What do you think? Did Christain Bale and Tom Hardy use steroids to put on muscle? Write your thoughts in the comments.

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