Did you know Darth Vader was an Ex-Bodybuilder?
True story. Darth Vader was a bodybuilder. The actor who played Darth, David Prowse stood 6′7" and 265lbs in his prime.
Due to his imposing frame, the ex-bodybuilder was reportedly offered the choice of playing either the bear-like Chewbacca or Darth Vader by George Lucas, the film’s creator. He chose the latter after reasoning that cinema-goers were more likely to remember the movie’s villain.
From his official website:
I very quickly decided that I needed something a bit more strenuous than the Charles Atlas Course, so I bought myself a Health and Strength magazine and joined a weight training group that used to train in the house of the area organiser for the Health and Strength League. From there I graduated to buying my own set of weights and from then on trained either at home in the back garden in what used to be a coal shed, and with other dedicated enthusiasts living in and around the Bristol area in makeshift gyms that were invariably attached to larger sports or works social clubs.
My competing days started with the Junior Mr. West Britain that I never won, on to the Mr. West Britain where, for several years, I was always 2nd or 3rd to the 1ike of much shorter but more proportionate bodybuilders like Ron Thomas, John Pegler and Graham Price. By the time the 1960 Mr. Universe contest came round I’d blossomed from a start of 6′ 5″ and 11 1/2 stones (2meters and 75k) to 6′7″ and 17 stone 31bs (just over 2meters and 110k). But my problem was that although I was regarded as one of the top 20 physiques in the country, at 6′ 7″ I was nowhere near as heavily muscled as the shorter competitors and after the disappointment of being told by the chief judge that my ugly feet would always count against me, I decided to throw in the bodybuilding towel and turn my sights to competitive weightlifting.
Check out his website more info on his competitive bodybuilding and weight-lifting career.
