Stranger Things’ Eduardo Franco Debuts Body Transformation

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Eduardo Franco is thriving far away from Hawkins’ eerie atmosphere.

Indeed, the Stranger Things actor—who starred as Argyle in the show’s fourth season—has been focused on his health, and he showed off his lean physique for his new movie role on social media.

“On July 14th, I got the word that I got this job,” Eduardo explained in an Instagram video last November, which sees him flexing his muscles in the gym. “The script’s first scene, where my character appears in, is in the very beginning of the movie and my character is shirtless. I said, ‘Well, I’d like to look as lean as possible for that scene.’”

While the 31-year-old didn’t reveal details about his role or the film, he immediately locked in and started a three-month workout plan with fitness trainer Stephen Cheuk.

“I had no prior experience or any strength training whatsoever,” he added. “Stephen really did take care of me and it was super dope.”

But the American Vandal star’s instructor wasn’t the only one proud of his progress. In fact, his former Stranger Things costar Caleb Mclaughlin also praised his dedication in the comments section, writing, “Oh s--t!”

Eduardo isn’t the only Stranger Things alum that went through an impressive transformation for a project. His castmate David Harbour, 50, lost 75 pounds ahead of the Netflix show’s fourth season in 2022, during which his character Jim Hopper was held in a Russian labor camp.

“I started out like 265 and went down to 190,” he told GQ that year. “The timeline was sort of strange because the pandemic interrupted it. I lost 45 or 50 pounds in three months, and then the rest was a slow burn. Another four months and I had to maintain it for a year while we were waiting to shoot again.”

He added, “It was funny: When I started, it was sort of easy. As you lose more and more weight, it’s much harder because your body is like, ‘We gotta stop doing this.’ But in the beginning, it was liberating.”

As for the strenuous workout plan that helped him reach his goals at the time?

“I would do a mixture of resistance work and cardio,” David detailed. “The cardio was a lot of running but with very low intensity over an extended period of time, around 60 to 90 minutes at a heart rate of about 165. I did a lot of Pilates too, and some weight training. What I was looking for was that lean look. He’s strong, but he’s been emaciated, so the Pilates really helped with that.”

Keep reading to see more actors who transformed their bodies for a role…

Instagram / Channing Tatum

Channing Tatum

The Magic Mike star's weight has fluctuated over the years, especially in 2024, as he got into character for two back-to-back movie roles.

He said on Instagram in March 2025 that he currently weighed 205 pounds—up from the 172 pounds he weighed for Roofman (pictured, right). Months before beginning production on that 2024 film, he shot the movie Josephine (pictured, left) and weighed 235 pounds for his role.

Jose Perez/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images; Blank Archives/Getty Images

Timothée Chalamet

For his Oscar-nominated role as musician Bob Dylan in A Complete Unknown, the Dune actor learned how to sing and play guitar.

"I also put on 20 pounds," he said during a January 2025 episode NPR’s All Things Considered podcast, "because, believe it or not, I was thinner than the guy.”

David Fisher/Shutterstock, Universal Pictures

Cillian Murphy

To play scientist J. Robert Oppenheimer in Christopher Nolan's Oppenheimer, the Irish actor "had to lose quite a bit of weight," he shared. "He was very slim, almost emaciated, existed on martinis and cigarettes." His diet? According to costar Emily Blunt, "He had such a monumental undertaking.And he could only eat, like, an almond every day."

Christopher Polk/NBC; DC Comics/Warner Bros./Shutterstock

Joaquin Phoenix

For his Joker role, the Oscar winner opened up about his 52-pound weight loss, telling the Associated Press, "Once you reach the target weight, everything changes. Like so much of what's difficult is waking up every day and being obsessed over like 0.3 pounds. Right? And you really develop like a disorder."

Getty Images; Instagram

J.K. Simmons

The Spider-Man alum shocked fans when he debuted his bulging biceps, which were displayed in Justice League.

Andrew H. Walker/Getty Images; Bold Films/Kobal/Shutterstock

Jake Gyllenhaal

"I'd say my mother was worried," he previously told E! News after losing 30 pounds for Nightcrawler. "I would say she just wanted me to be careful. But she also knew and knows how seriously I take what I do and she respects that."

Can Nguyen/Shutterstock

Orlando Bloom

The Pirates of the Caribbean alum detailed the physical and emotional toll of losing 52 pounds for his boxing movie The Cut.

“I was exhausted mentally, physically. I was hangry,” he said on This Morning. “I was a horrible person to be around. The paranoia, the intrusive thoughts.”

“I wouldn’t recommend doing it at home, by the way,” he continued. “It was definitely not something to take lightly.”

Andrew H. Walker/Getty Images; Barry Wetcher/Warner Bros/Mgm/Kobal/Shutterstock

Michael B. Jordan

The Black Panther star gained nearly 30 pounds of muscle to transform into a rookie-turned-professional boxer in Creed.

Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images; Anne Marie Fox/Voltage/Kobal/Shutterstock

Jared Leto

The actor and musician nabbed an Oscar for his riveting role in The Dallas Buyers Club. He lost 40 pounds for the role.

Gary Gershoff/WireImage; Claire Folger/Warner Bros/Kobal/Shutterstock

Chris Messina

The Mindy Project alum had to gain 40 pounds for his role in Live by Night.

Jim Smeal/WireImage, Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic

Renée Zellweger

The Bridget Jones's Diary actress gained weight to portray the lovable character in the franchise's first and second films.

Warner Bros/Kobal/Shutterstock; Voltage Pictures/Kobal/Shutterstock

Matthew McConaughey

The Magic Mike hunk dropped 30 pounds to star in The Dallas Buyer's Club—which centered on the real-life story about a man dying from AIDS in the 1980s who treated himself with alternative remedies he smuggled into the United States from Mexico.

Jason LaVeris/FilmMagic; Ibl/Shutterstock

Rooney Mara

The actress looked lean and strong for her starring role in The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo.

Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images; Working Title Films/Kobal/Shutterstock

Anne Hathaway

The Les Misérables star took home an Oscar for her role in the musical.

Isa Foltin/WireImage; Moviestore/Shutterstock

Christian Bale

He's no stranger to morphing for movie roles. In 2004, he lost more than 60 pounds for his role in The Machinist, and he did it again for the film The Fighter, opposite Mark Wahlberg. He also gained 40 pounds for American Hustle—and lost 70 pounds for Ford v Ferrari.

Bei/Shutterstock; Disney/Kobal/Shutterstock

Jake Gyllenhaal (Again)

The actor looked more like a god than a prince for his role in 2010's Prince of Persia. Gyllenhaal said he studied Parkour, the French art of street running, in order to bulk up for the film.

Francois Duhamel/20th Century Fox/Dreamworks/Kobal/Shutterstock

Tom Hanks

"All it is is time and discipline," the Oscar winner told Time magazine of his role in 2000's Cast Away, for which he lost over 50 pounds to play a man stranded on an uninhabited island.

Lawrence Lucier/FilmMagic; Twitter

50 Cent

The ripped rapper shocked fans with a photo of himself looking slender. He reportedly went from 214 to 160 pounds in just nine weeks to play a football player diagnosed with cancer in Things Fall Apart.

Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images; Moviestore/Shutterstock

Robert De Niro

Shaping up for movie roles is nothing new. The legendary actor earned an Oscar nom for his role as terrifying tattooed rapist Max Cady in the 1991 thriller Cape Fear.

Vivien Killilea/Getty Images; Matt Kennedy/Annapurna/Kobal/Shutterstock