Steroids, Social Media And Obsession: A Conversation With Daniel Stisen About His Role Of David In New Bodybuilding Film GAIN
‘Gain’ is about a bodybuilder who’s obsessed with gaining muscle, whatever the cost. Daniel Stisen, who plays the lead role of David, is a former bodybuilder himself and wanted to show both sides of that world. The film is also a love story; David’s girlfriend Paula is played by French actress Péline Liberty. Here Stisen talks about social media, steroids, male body image and the trade-offs that many bodybuilders have to make.
Daniel, can you tell us more about the movie ‘Gain’?
The short movie 'Gain' is a dark drama, set in London’s bodybuilding world. I worked on the film together with the director/photographer Nick Wall and the writer James Keating.
The main character David, who I play, is obsessed with gaining muscle – every minute of his day is about getting bigger and stronger, there is nothing else. He is willing to do whatever it takes to get to his goal. He is not a bad person, but he’s so obsessed with what he does that he doesn’t see that it's unhealthy and it affects the people he loves in a negative way.
It impacts his relationship, and his girlfriend suffers as a result. She doesn’t feel seen or loved, and ends up struggling with neuroses, an eating disorder and self-harming, as a result of David’s egocentric behaviour.
We follow David over a few days, where his life goes from one extreme to the other, with an interesting twist. The film touches on the themes of steroid use and abuse among younger men, and the need to look good, to be cool, to have the perfect body, to be respected and liked. It also looks at social media, where people share pictures of their ‘perfect’ life and body. The expectations are brutal in the modern world.
'Gain’ shows the dark side of this constant pressure, and the price you may end up paying in the long run if you have an unhealthy relationship with social media and body image.
GAIN IS AVAILABLE NOW
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