Movies - TV
Arnold Schwarzeneg-ger's Size Somehow Stopped Him From Playing The Incredible Hulk
By DEVIN MEENAN
Before Mark Ruffalo played the Incredible Hulk on the silver screen, the Jolly Green Giant was the star of his own TV show, which originally aired from 1977 to 1982 and starred Lou Ferrigno as the Hulk. However, Ferrigno wasn't the only bodybuilder considered to play the Hulk, and one, in particular, was passed over because of his height.
Arnold Schwarzenegger, who first came to fame as a bodybuilder in the 1970s and appeared in the documentary “Pumping Iron,” was deemed too short to play the Hulk. The Hulk didn't just need to be strong, he needed to be giant, and while Schwarzenegger had the muscles, he apparently wasn't lumbering enough at 6’2”.
TV producers found their Hulk with the 6'5" Ferrigno, but things worked out for Schwarzenegger in the long run. He would rocket to even greater fame than Ferrigno in just a few years thanks to "Conan the Barbarian" and "The Terminator." Had he been contracted to the TV show, his schedule might not have been clear enough to star in those movies.