Overview (4)

Mini Bio (1)

Spouse (2)

Trade Mark (5)

Vocal slur



Is most live action feature filmmakers' preferred choice to voice the Hulk.



Huge muscular physique



Towering height



The only human to ever be cast as the hulk without CGI.



Trivia (36)

Professional bodybuilder. Played professional football in Canada.



Partially hearing-impaired



1974: Won the bodybuilding title, "Mr. Universe".



1973: Won the bodybuilding title, "Mr. America".



1973: Won the bodybuilding title, "Mr. Universe".



1970: Won the bodybuilding title, "Teenage Mr. America".



Weighs 275 pounds - with 59" chest - 34" waist - 22. 5" bicep - 29" thighs and 19" neck.



The youngest bodybuilder ever to hold the "Mr. Universe" title (age 20).



In the late '80s he decided to tone down his massive body so that people would be more likely to see him as a person and not just as his "monster" alter ego "The Hulk".





Growing up, he was a fan of the '50s "Hercules" films that starred bodybuilder Steve Reeves and a fan of the Incredible Hulk comic books. He went on to play both the Incredible Hulk (both live action and providing the voice of the Hulk for an animated series) and Hercules.

Bench-pressed 560 lbs in his prime (age 25). Now, at the age of 50, he benches 400 lbs.





Declares Der unglaubliche Hulk (1977) episode "King of the Beach" (in which he played a bodybuilder, in addition to the Hulk) his favorite episode of the series.

Like so many of the bodybuilders who starred in the "Hercules" films of the late '50s and early '60s, his voice was dubbed for his own "Hercules" films.



Stated that his father was very critical of and negative towards him when he was growing up due to his hearing disability. Though Lou respected his father, he was very hurt when his father expressed his belief that Lou would never achieve success.





Was originally cast as 'Tigris of Gaul' in Gladiator (2000), but was replaced during production by Sven-Ole Thorsen who had been trying hard for over a year to get the part.



Beat out Arnold Schwarzenegger for the role of the Hulk on the TV series Der unglaubliche Hulk (1977). Ferrigno won reportedly because Arnold, at 6' 2", was deemed not tall enough, while Lou was 6' 5".



Has appeared in four different adaptations of "The Incredible Hulk". The first was the live-action television series of the late 1970s and early 1980s ( Der unglaubliche Hulk (1977)), in which he played the Hulk--and does not speak. In the 1990s he played the role again in an animated series for the UPN network, The Incredible Hulk (1996) -- this time providing the creature's voice. In Ang Lee 's 2003 film Hulk (2003) the Hulk is computer-generated, so Lou plays a completely different part - that of a security guard (along with Stan Lee ) at the lab where Bruce Banner works. In the 2008 film Der unglaubliche Hulk (2008), he plays a security guard again, this time one who allows Bruce Banner to enter with a pizza -- and also, once again, voices the Hulk.



Attended Brooklyn Technical High School in Fort Greene, Brooklyn, NY--the same neighborhood where director Spike Lee now resides.

2/11/06: He was sworn in as a Los Angeles County Reserve Deputy Sheriff. He will serve for at least 20 hours each month. His duties will include helping recruit new deputies and working with the sheriff's Youth Activities League and the Special Victims Bureau.



He stood 6' 5" and he was the tallest professional body builder of the 1970s. Due to natural aging, he now stands 6'3 1/2".





In his book "My Incredible Life As The Hulk", he stated that he has never been compensated for any merchandising related to Der unglaubliche Hulk (1977) TV series. He said it was because no such deals existed for him during the show's prime-time run.



In October 1981 he was in Egypt, scheduled to be one of Egyptian President Anwar Sadat 's personal guests at a public event. However, at the last minute Sadat canceled his appearance. A few days later Muslim fundamentalists killed Sadat, along with 12 others, at an annual military parade. It was later discovered that Sadat's killers had originally planned to assassinate him at the event where Ferrigno would have been seated next to him. Ferrigno believes that he would have been killed along with Sadat if Sadat had not canceled his appearance.



Best known by the public for his starring role as Der unglaubliche Hulk (1977).



Although Lou played "The Hulk" in the TV series, the growls and snarls heard in it aren't his. They were made by actor Ted Cassidy (Lurch in Die Addams Family (1964)) until 1979 (first two seasons). Then, after Cassidy's death in that year, the Hulk was voiced by actor Charles Napier for the remaining three seasons and the three movies made in later years.



Former personal trainer for Michael Jackson . Jackson invited him to be his personal trainer to prepare for the This is It concerts. Ferrigno had appeared in Jackson's "Liberian Girl" short film in 1989 and they remained friends until Jackson's death in 2009.

In his peak body-building days, he could bench press nearly 500 pounds.





Acting mentor was Bill Bixby



Appeared, with Erik Estrada , in a commercial for "Butterfinger". [2010]

In 1986 he was set to star in an unnamed war-action movie, heavily inspired by "Rambo: First Blood Part II". Playing a Vietnam veteran on a mission, similar to John Rambo, he would impress the viewers with his stunning physical condition. The movie was cancelled.



Sybil Danning had a huge crush on him when the two filmed their 1983 fantasy film "Hercules." Ferrigno was in peak physical condition at the time.



Once refereed a professional wrestling match.



Personal Quotes (7)

Everyone has his own "little Hulk" inside him.



If I hadn't lost my hearing, I wouldn't be where I am now. It forced me to maximize my potential. I had to be better than the average person to succeed. That's why I chose bodybuilding. If I became a world champion, if I could win admiration from my peers, I could do anything.





[his response (in 1979) to an indication that he shared the spotlight with Krieg der Sterne (1977) villain Darth Vader, played by David Prowse , another muscle-bound actor] Anybody could play Darth Vader. Vader is basically just a big guy behind a costume. The character shows no emotion, no nothing! If you really showed the emotional side of The Hulk he could be even hotter than "Star Wars". Kampfstern Galactica (1978) didn't show any feelings and that's the big reason why I think it was canceled.



[regarding then competing series Wonder Woman (1975)] And as for "Wonder Woman" . . . there's nothing there . . . nothing to show at all but a "beautiful body", and that's it. You never get a chance to find out anything about the person at all. What a bore! I can't understand why that show ran as long as it did.



[Of Bill Bixby ]: Bill was a great guy. He was a great mentor, great director, great producer and all the things that were great. Bill had a lot on him, because he loved his son, Christopher. When he lost his son, 2 days later, he came on the set and continued filming, and I knew he did that!



[on his on- and off-screen chemistry with Bill Bixby , who played Dr. David Banner]: You know, a couple of times on the set if I was late, I remember that look he gave me, oh boy! I thought, he would be 'The Hulk.'