Brett Goldstein stunned fans when he popped up as Hercules in a Marvel post-credits scene. Now he reveals the surprisingly hirsute reason he landed the role. The British actor and comedian, best known for playing the gruff Roy Kent in Ted Lasso, made his Marvel Cinematic Universe debut in 2022’s Thor: Love and Thunder.
Appearing shirtless and scowling as Zeus’s vengeful son, Goldstein sparked speculation about his future in the franchise. But according to the man himself, Marvel’s casting decision came down to something far removed from superhuman biceps.
Brett Goldstein got Hercules because Marvel loved his chest hair?
Goldstein joked that he only realized how unusual his body type was after moving to Los Angeles. “When I first went in a rooftop pool, I think someone called pest control,” he told Men’s Health. The actor noted he is one of the rare leading men who still sports a full chest of hair. “Marvel didn’t have any issue with it,” he said of playing Hercules. “It’s probably why they cast me — the chest hair.”
The truth is less follicular. Goldstein found out he was joining the MCU just two weeks before filming. “They turn around, and they reveal, ‘It’s Hercules; it’s you.’ And I went, ‘What?’” he previously told The Playlist. “Just like, ‘Are you serious? Are you f*cking with me? Is this a wind-up?’” With minimal prep time, Goldstein hit the gym hard. He told director Taika Waititi he was “basically like a skinny comedian” but did his best to bulk up. “I’m doing 400 push-ups that day,” he said. “I was fit to explode.”
The actor has maintained a serious training regimen ever since. His trainer Victor Del Valle puts him through superset circuits with very heavy weights three days a week. “He absolutely f*cking destroys me Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and I spend the rest of the week trying to recover,” Goldstein said.
His Ted Lasso character had his own hairy moment too. In Season 3, Episode 9, Rebecca Welton storms into the locker room and yells, “Oi! Kent! Get your hairy arse into my office. Now!” Roy Kent fires back at his teammates, “Every single one of you knows my arse isn’t hairy. Yet none of you spoke up. And I will never forgive you.”
Ted Lasso is currently streaming Season 4.
Originally reported by Devanshi Basu on SuperHeroHype.
