Eduardo Franco is thriving far from the eerie atmosphere of Hawkins. Indeed, the Stranger Things actor—who starred as Argyle in the show’s fourth season—has been focused on his health, and he recently showcased his lean physique for his new movie role on social media.
In an Instagram video last November, Eduardo explained, “On July 14th, I got the word that I got this job.” The video saw him flexing his muscles in the gym. “The script’s first scene, where my character appears, is at 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 took care of me, and it was super dope.”
But Eduardo wasn’t the only Stranger Things alum to undergo an impressive transformation for a project. His former costar Caleb McLaughlin also praised his dedication in the comments section, writing, “Oh s--t!”
Additionally, David Harbour, 50, lost 75 pounds ahead of the Netflix show’s fourth season in 2022. During that time, his character Jim Hopper was held in a Russian labor camp. “I started out at 265 pounds 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.”
