While Arnold Schwarzenegger dominated the bodybuilding circuit during the 80s, another fellow American, Lou Ferrigno, was making huge inroads to dethrone him. A former Mr. America and Mr. Universe, Ferrigno provided a stern challenge to Schwarzenegger.

Further, he had a memorable first attempt at Mr. Olympia in 1974, finishing second-best behind Schwarzenegger. However, the Mr. Olympia title eluded Ferrigno as he is considered one of the greatest bodybuilders to have never won this title.

Ferrigno later ventured into filmography, playing a stellar role in many movies. His role as Hulk, in The Incredible Hulk, won many plaudits. Ferrigno once narrated an interesting incident about how he bagged the role of Hulk.

An innocent kid helped Lou Ferrigno bag the role of Hulk

During an interview in 2019, Ferrigno opened up about how the director’s son helped him get his most iconic role. Talking about this, he said, “The director came on the set one day and he had his son with him, and the son said, ‘Daddy, he doesn’t look like the Hulk.'”

Further, he went on to add, “The Hulk had to look like the comic books with the big massive muscles, so they did a nationwide search and they found me by coincidence and I was the best bodybuilder available at that point, perfect to play the role. And I was in the best shape of my life as well.”

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Richard Kiel was initially chosen to play the role of Hulk. However, due to this incident, Ferrigno replaced Kiel, which proved to be a turning point in his acting career.

What did Ferrigno enjoy the most about playing the Hulk?

The 70-year-old, also talked about the aspect that he enjoyed the most while portraying the character of Hulk. He said, “I loved the character. I love how he separates good from evil and how much he protects people and how he reacts to all of the adversity against him, especially the fact that he is not really a monster.”

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Despite being 70 years old, Ferrigno trains regularly to maintain his fitness. He recently shared a glimpse of his toned physique on social media.