‘Swamp Thing’s Ian Ziering Reveals He ‘Hit The Gym Every Day’ To Bulk Up To Play The Blue Devil
‘Swamp Thing’ is being resurrected on The CW. HL talked EXCLUSIVELY with star Ian Ziering about his transformation for the role of Dan Cassidy, a.k.a. Blue Devil, and more.
Swamp Thing previously aired on DC Universe and will make its broadcast debut on The CW on Sept. 6. The series follows Abby Arcane, who returns to her hometown in Louisiana to investigate an epidemic. She discovers the local swamps hold many secrets after her partner seemingly dies and transforms into Swamp Thing. Ian Ziering, 56, plays Daniel Cassidy, a former stuntman who became somewhat famous after playing the Blue Devil in a film.
HollywoodLife spoke EXCLUSIVELY with the actor, who revealed that he hit the gym to prepare for the role. “I wanted to put some more size on,” Ian told HollywoodLife during an episode of TVTalk. “I just wanted to put some size on to make the character a little bit more foreboding. I was in the gym every day, but I’m typically in the gym whenever I can, but this was an opportunity for me to be like, ‘OK, it’s on.’ So I tightened up the waist, broadened the shoulders, worked out twice a day because I had a motivation. I had a reason why, and it’s not even really about the physique. It’s about the characters, and as excited as I was to play Dan Cassidy, everybody came to set with that level of joy to work on such a top-level production.”
The Beverly Hills, 90210 alum revealed the “spectacular” Blue Devil costume is like “artwork.” Part of the reason why he decided to bulk up was that the Blue Devil outfit wasn’t “a bulky costume. It was skintight. It was exaggerated to make the demon’s musculature, but underneath it was mine, so it heightened my physique.”
Swamp Thing originally aired on DC Universe back in 2019. Ian loved being a part of Swamp Thing, which he called “top-shelf production.” He admitted that Swamp Thing “far outdistances anything I’ve ever done as far as production value.”
The series also stars Crystal Reed, Andy Bean, Jennifer Beals, and more. Swamp Thing will now air Tuesdays at 8 p.m. on The CW.