The
Wizard World Comic Con is rolling through Pittsburgh this weekend, and original Hulk actor Lou Ferrigno stopped by
City Paper for a conversation about his upbringing and new ventures.
You weren’t always The Hulk. Childhood wasn’t exactly easy for you, overcoming deafness and being introverted. Can you talk about how you got through that time?
Well, being young I had to deal with the hearing and speech issue because of the fact that I had an ear infection. But my hearing has improved tremendously over the years. But as a kid, I was a real-like Hulk in mini because of my obsession with power. I used to read The Hulk comic books, Superman comic books, page by page; I almost took the print off the page. I would envision myself being Superman, being Spider-Man, and then it was like a dream come true, because it was all about the power thing. That led to bodybuilding and fitness. I became the world bodybuilding champion, and then when I received the phone call to play The Hulk, I was ecstatic.
Your father was in law enforcement, and you really respect authority and leadership. You were a deputy sheriff in two places in California, and in one place in Ohio recently in 2013. Can you talk about your role in the different police departments?
I grew up in law enforcement, my father being a police officer. So I met the sheriff about 12 years ago, and he said, ‘Why don’t you go through the academy?’ So I took six months out of my life, went through the academy to become a certified police officer. That’s something I wanted to do because I wanted to give back and change my life. And, it’s probably the only thing my father would’ve been proud of, even though I won Mr. Universe, Mr. International, did the Hulk series, everything. But I just love being a deputy because I get to work with Homeland Security, saving people’s lives, and especially knowing that I could give back to the public.
Can you talk a little bit about Ferrigno Fit and what the goal behind that is?
Ferrigno Fit is an incredible website. It teaches you how to become your own personal trainer. You get a customized meal plan, any body, any shape, any type. It’s $100 for three months. A lot of people don’t want to have personal trainers. You go online, you get these routines and you train yourself. My daughter came up with the idea. That’s why I call it Ferrigno Fit. It’s very successful. We have a lot of people who adapted to the program, and they changed their bodies tremendously. They lost like 50-80 pounds. It’s all about dieting and training properly.
You new movie Instant Death comes out this year. Can you talk about the process of filming and what the experience was like for you?
The movie’s incredible. It’s about a guy in the special forces; his family was harmed and he’s seeking revenge. You’ll see fighting skills, you’ll see acting skills like you’ve never seen be done before. Twenty-five fights scenes, and they’re major fight scenes: martial arts, combat training, kicking. It’s a great movie. I’m very proud of it.
Ashley Murray contributed to this report.