Wednesday, July 31, 2013

It's All About the Legs For Dwayne Johnson’s 'Hercules' Role

You're probably familiar with the Greek myth of the mighty Hercules and his many acts of larger-than-life derring-do. But what you probably didn't know was that the most formidable feature of the demi-god's legendary physique was his legs.

At least it will be when former WWE champion and current big-screen superstar Dwayne Johnson plays him in "Hercules: The Thracian Wars," a fantastical action-adventure directed by Brett Ratnerthat looks to turn the muscle man born of the immortal Zeus and the mortal Alcmene into a Hollywood action hero.

It's been a well-documented fact that the legs are The Rock's favorite body part to concentrate on during his epic-sized workout sessions, but everything had to be taken up a notch (or ten) for what could arguably be his biggest role yet.

"Doing legs, yeah, it's my favorite body part, I enjoy that," Johnson tells Yahoo! Movies. (See our exclusive behind-the-scenes clip above). "But with a role like Hercules, you get one shot at that, that particular role. And the training was upped in terms of the intensity, the volume of it. I enjoy doing legs, but I enjoy working the entire body, sure!"

Dwayne Johnson's Herculean workout (Photo: TheRock/Instagram)The Rock's particular fondness for working out his legs shows a certain humbleness that makes the already extremely likable celeb all the more endearing, as they're usually hidden from view as compared to more on-display "ego muscles" such as the chest and biceps. However, pants don't immediately come to mind when thinking of Hercules, so the Greek hero's legs will most definitely be as impressive as the rest of his demi-god body when he makes his big-screen debut next summer.

And he's going to need the body of a demi-god to perform the various tasks of his hero's journey, often referred to as the "Twelve Labors" of Hercules:

1. Slay the Nemean Lion.
2. Slay the nine-headed Lernaean Hydra.
3. Capture the Golden Hind of Artemis.
4. Capture the Erymanthian Boar.
5. Clean the Augean stables in a single day. (You know, just to stay humble.)
6. Slay the Stymphalian Birds.
7. Capture the Cretan Bull.
8. Steal the Mares of Diomedes.
9. Obtain the girdle of Hippolyta, Queen of the Amazons.
10. Obtain the cattle of the monster Geryon.
11. Steal the apples of the Hesperides.
12. Capture and bring back Cerberus.

You're darn right all that slaying, capturing, stealing, obtaining and, uh, cleaning requires seven meals a day and a workout regimen that would break most mere mortals.

And when it comes to the Rock's Herculean, gams-flaunting loin cloth — he has assured us, it covers all the right parts. "I'm rocking the leather, leather loincloth," he told Yahoo! Movies during a recent interview, adding, "There's not a lot of mishaps but you know there's not a lot of leather in the world to take care of me [winks]. You know what I'm saying?"

"Hercules: The Thracian Wars" will hit theaters on July 25, 2014.

See Sequel Viagra — 11 Franchises That Need The Rock:

The People's Champ has made a habit of coming in late to an already established franchise, and then helping that film make gobs of money. Because of that skill, we thought of some other films that ... more

1 / 12

Yahoo! Movies | Photo By Universal/Warner Bros. / Paramount