Union Jacked

TOM HOPPER, star of the new Netflix show The Umbrella Academy, may be a well-mannered English gentleman. But in the gym, he’s a beast. Discover the keys to his fitness badassery.

- Shawn Donnelly

ON THE NEW NETFLIX SERIES The Umbrella Academy, Tom Hopper plays a character who possesses super-strength. And right now, it looks like the actor shares the same superpower. We’re at the ultra-exclusive Performix House gym near Manhattan’s Union Square, and Hopper is putting on something of a clinic. As a photographer snaps picture after picture, Hopper holds himself in midair on the gymnastics rings for what feels like ages, keeping his hands close to his sides, his body arrow-straight, and his face totally relaxed, as if the feat were effortless. It’s a bit like Vince Vaughn’s “still holding” gymnastics scene from Old School, only without the assistance of CGI (and definitely without the cigarette).

After this, the 6’5”, 15 stone Hopper will knock out a few dozen ring dips, slam a pair of battle ropes against the ground until it feels like the floor is going to crumble, and shove a sled loaded with hundreds of kg of iron down a strip of artificial turf. All with the politeness of a debonair English prince.

The kicker? This isn’t even Hopper’s first workout of the morning. The actor trained at a different gym before the shoot just to get his blood pumping.

Such is life for Hopper, who seems determined to be as healthy and fit as humanly possible. Which is how you end up with a physique like Hopper’s: tiny waist, big shoulders, substantial pecs and biceps, and a V-taper in full effect. He looks like a cross between an Olympic swimmer and a professional rugby player. With, to top it off, the handsome face of a model.

“The thing with Tom is he takes such good care of his body,” says Sam Rosati, a friend who worked with Hopper in Toronto on the production of The Umbrella Academy. “Whenever Tom is in Toronto, the city experiences a shortage of chicken breasts.”