Mike O’Hearn goes into detail about his latest upcoming guest role in FOX’s hit series 9-1-1 and speaks on using his weightlifting mentality to open doors in acting
Earlier this week, Mike O’Hearn got busted for steroids and synthol… in an announcement for his guest spot on the hit FOX drama 9-1-1. The trolling prank was a fun way to bring attention to the project – as well as point out how quickly people are to react online before reading the full story. But O’Hearn has far more in the pipeline for his acting career than this one guest spot. In fact, he’s found new doors opened over the past year putting him into more high profile film projects than ever before. This week on Generation Iron and Barbend’s The Mike O’Hearn Show, Mike goes into detail about his upcoming film roles and how his discipline as a bodybuilder aided his transformation into acting.
Mike O’Hearn has long used his platform on social media (and before that in magazines) to promote not only strength excellence but the importance on discipline for a long healthy life. This is the reason, he claims, that he has been able to uphold his massive and impressive physique for so many decades without the use of PEDs. Now in his 50s, his sculpted body is comparable to those in their 20s and 30s.
O’Hearn has often stated the reason he stopped competing in natural bodybuilding shows – and moved away from competitive bodybuilding entirely – was because of his personal goals to live a long healthy and strong life. And now he is reflecting on how this mentality has opened many doors outside of just health and fitness.
While Mike O’Hearn has been acting for some time now, he has recently seen more doors open up for him in a wider variety of projects as well as higher profile films. He relates this to two main reasons –
- By transferring his weightlifting discipline into the challenge of acting
- By having a physique and energy level higher than most people his age – due to his tireless discipline in health and fitness since childhood.
That’s why on today’s episode, Mike O’Hearn wants to reflect back at his acting career, how it intersects with his bodybuilding and fitness career, and share lessons that can hopefully help those beyond fitness. Let’s dive into it.
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Mike O’Hearn shares trailer and BTS clips from upcoming films DIVINITY and Magazine Dreams
Most recently, Mike O’Hearn has performed roles in two very buzzy films – DIVINITY and Magazine Dreams. The former is a sci-fi indie film where O’Hearn plays some sort of mutant “metahuman.” The latter is a bodybuilding drama that stars Jonathan Majors. Both films debuted at Sundance and have gotten much hype and attention since the festival. Magazine Dreams was produced by Steven Soderbergh.
Mike O’Hearn claims that he owes the roles in these films due to the decades of hard and consistent work he put in as a bodybuilder. He truly believes that he would not have been able to open these doors if he wasn’t able to be competitive with his physique – especially at his age. These are roles that could have gone to individuals 20 years his junior.
But in addition to this, he also wants to make it clear that acting has been something he’s pursued over the past few decades of his life as well. Just like bodybuilding, the journey takes time. He is now seeing opportunities today that where not possible 15 years ago. That’s due to increasing his experience and acting ability through consistent training of his craft.
Had he given up after rejections earlier in his life, or by not getting “meaty” enough roles, he would have not gotten these roles today. That’s all to say that Mike O’Hearn wants to make it clear how much long term goal setting is important. Impatience is a dangerous emotion. It can prevent you from having the success you crave – maybe it’s just further away than you originally planned.
This is just like bodybuilding. Both involve the tussle and challenge of battling against others to become a champion. For bodybuilding it may be a competition trophy. For acting it’s winning the role over other actors. Just like how bodybuilders shouldn’t rush through drugs to try and win the Mr. Olympia – Mike O’Hearn dedicated his time and energy for longevity that has started paying off today.
Mike O’Hearn also speaks on the importance of actions over words
Mike O’Hearn covers many other projects that he has either recently been featured in – or has coming up. You can check those out in detail by watching the full episode. But O’Hearn also circles back by touching base on his 9-1-1 appearance – and the joke announcement he made via Generation Iron.
We live in a truly reactionary world, one where brief updates in short headlines constantly bombard us via notifications and infinite scrolling. The misdirect on Mike O’Hearn’s “steroid bust” was made in jest. But when shared on social media – many of the comments made it clear that very few were actually reading the article to gain context.
That’s an issue larger than simply fitness and bodybuilding. But it’s one that Mike O’Hearn uses as part of an analogy for health and fitness success. He takes this further by discussing the recent changes in Twitter with blue check marks.
You can now buy a blue check mark on Twitter. And O’Hearn recounts a conversation he had with a friend. Buying a blue check mark doesn’t mean anything. If you can get it with cash – then anyone can obtain one with little effort. But to earn a blue check mark (like original Twitter), that shows you dedicated yourself to obtain something.
This is true beyond social media. It’s something Mike O’Hearn lives by and hopes to inspire in others. What you say is not as powerful as what you do. Of course, words can be signals to beliefs and actions worthy of criticism. But as a society we should be a little less reactionary. At the same time, we should also be less entitled – earning our success rather than paying for it or leeching off of other people’s successes.
“It’s not what you say, it’s what you do,” is a line Mike O’Hearn states often. It’s why he’s more than willing to troll and joke about being a fake natty and getting “busted for steroids.” Because he knows his actions speak louder than these temporary words.
Wrap Up
You can watch Mike O’Hearn go into full detail about his latest acting projects as well as his mentality to success in our latest episode of The Mike O’Hearn Show above. Don’t forget to check back every Friday for new episodes only on the Generation Iron Fitness Network or wherever podcasts are downloaded.
