Lord Swoondemort.
Ralph Fiennes showed off his muscular body that he’s maintained since playing Odysseus, the Greek king of Ithaca, in his 2024 film “The Return.”
The 62-year-old actor recently shared two photos on X of his remarkable physique while at the gym. Fiennes, who was shirtless and donned a long beard, flashed his massive muscles and abs at the camera.
He fittingly used the flexed bicep emoji to caption his post.
A fan account on Instagram shared more pictures of Fiennes displaying his ripped body at the gym. The account credited the footage to the actor’s personal trainer, Dan Avasilcai.
Fiennes’ pictures went viral on the internet and fans responded with many “Harry Potter” jokes.
“voldemort shredded,” one fan wrote on X.
“Lord Voldemort is ripped and ready for a rematch with Harry Potter,” another fan said.
A third account tweeted, “Harry better watch his back.”
“Harry Potter and the chamber of GAINZ,” a different account joked.
“Conclave 2 about to go crazy 😅,” another fan said about Fiennes’ Oscar-nominated film.
Other fans on Instagram praised Fiennes for working hard to get his “amazing body.”
“62, healthy and gorgeous,” one fan wrote.
“Woooooowwww amazing Ralph Fiennes,” someone else said.
Fiennes transformed his body to play Odysseus in the Uberto Pasolini-directed film that retold the last sections of Homer’s Greek poem.
The movie, which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in Sept. 2024 and then came out in theaters in Dec., also stars Juliette Binoche, Charlie Plummer and Tom Rhys Harries.
Fiennes told The Guardian in March that he spent five months physically training for the role, though he made sure to not overdo it.
“Uberto was very clear. He didn’t want me to have a sort of bulked-up gym body,” Fiennes said, recalling that he told his personal trainer, “He should look like a bit of old rope.”
Fiennes explained that he did weight-training and running while his diet included proteins, complex carbohydrates and vegetables to lose fat to have the look of Odysseus.
Pasolini told the outlet, “At the beginning, I have to confess, I was slightly suspicious that there was so much protein going in and so much exercise that we would have a body that looked exercised instead of a body that was consumed, a lived body. There is no gym in ancient Greece.”
The director added, “The physicality that Ralph was able to bring to the film is the physicality of somebody who has suffered and travelled and is scarred and is dried by the sun and consumed by living”.
