Grant Gustin Used to Be the Fastest Man Alive. He’s Finally Learning to Slow Down.
GRANT GUSTIN MAY have played a superhero on TV for more than 180 episodes, but he didn't always feel like one. Known for his role as Barry Allen—the born name of The Flash, DC's scarlet speedster who’s been jetting through comic book pages since 1940—Gustin would seem to be the perfect fit to be featured in the pages of Men’s Health.
He was embarrassed of his size, clearly, describing himself as a pretty skinny kid at the start of the series in 2013. (Gustin appeared on two episodes of The CW's Arrow before landing his own spin-off show). That led to production hiring both a trainer and sprint coach—even if you’re not actually breaking the sound barrier, convincing running form is still of the utmost importance—to get him in the best shape possible. Unfortunately, 16-hour work days led to exhaustion, which sent him in the compete opposite direction of what a bulked-up superhero fit for a fitness publication would expectedly look like.
“My ass was just getting kicked," he says regarding his body's Flash-devolution, before later going on to explain why now he feels the confidence he lacked over a decade ago. "I just stopped working out and got thinner and thinner those first five seasons."
Gustin's The Flash was action-packed (pow!), featured all sorts of electrically-powered bits of speed (boom!), and instantly generated a massive, devoted fanbase online. It screamed muscled-up masculinity in a way—at least to the audience yearning to be just like their favorite superhero. But Gustin didn't feel what they felt. He felt like his body was stuck, and things continued to spiral in the wrong direction.
“I didn't take good care of myself,” he says. “I wasn't managing my anxiety and stress well, and I was just working really, really hard.”
He ended up finding inspiration to make a change from an unexpected place—being locked up during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. It was an opportunity to pause, reassess his life and habits, and make some changes to his mental and physical wellbeing that he’d been pushing towards for a very long time.
“I started exercising a lot between seasons,” he says. “I put on 20 pounds of muscle, just because I had time to work out. Since then, it's been four years.”
In the time since, Gustin has had a daughter (with another child on the way), and hung up his scarlet red spandex. Nowadays, he’s traded his superhero heroics for a life on Broadway as the lead in his debut performance as Jacob Jankowski in the Tony-nominated musical adaptation of Water for Elephants (which was originally a novel and a Robert Pattinson-starring film in 2011).
It’s an exciting, demanding, slightly repetitive job that involves eight shows a week. But while the idea of messing up is not only uncomfortable for Gustin, it helps light a fire every night in the guy who formerly held the title of DC's fastest man alive.
“Living on the edge is what’s exciting,” he says. “You’re so vulnerable. The medium isn't as important to me as being drawn to the character and to the story. It's one of the reasons I wanted to do this—it was not only good for me as an actor, but for my continued growth as a person.”
Before he heads home to take a well-deserved nap—those Broadway days are long, after all—Gustin sat down with Men’s Health (finally!) to talk about his Flash legacy, physical and mental fitness, and what’s next after Broadway.
MEN'S HEALTH: Do you feel “preparing” for a role is always similar, no matter who you’re playing?
GRANT GUSTIN: My approach is always to find a way to bring as much of myself to it as possible, and whatever the truth is for me, and the emotion I feel come up when I read something, just go with that. I don't think I put too much pressure on myself.
I have imposter syndrome every time I get a job, so I try to trust I was hired for a reason and also try to remind myself only I can be me, and I can't be anybody else. I'm the only one who can bring to the table what I have to offer.
MH: When you were cast as The Flash, were there any thoughts of 'I don’t know if I want this to be my legacy?'
GG: It never crossed my mind. I mean, I was 23 when I auditioned for that show and thought I had no chance of getting it. I didn't even want to go to the audition. I was like, 'This is a waste of my time and their time.' In the breakdown it said he was late twenties to early thirties.
He's big and buff and blonde in the comics. I was just like, 'Why are they even seeing me?' I had imposter syndrome about even going to that audition. The idea of 'Do I want this?' never even crossed my mind. That was similar to now doing Water for Elephants—beyond a dream come true. Getting to play a superhero someday wasn't even something I could have dreamed.
MH: We’ve touched upon the physicality of the roles you’ve played. From the mental aspect, how do you beat the monotony? Water for Elephants can be different every night on that stage, but how do you get past the 'I’m tired of doing this' thought?
GG: The Flash was the coolest job in the world, and Water for Elephants is a dream come true. But I've done 55-56 performances now. It does get boring. And playing The Flash, I did over 180 episodes plus crossovers—so over 200. And there were days I didn't want to be doing it.
But there were also many days when I was acutely aware of how much fun it was, and how lucky I was. One thing I was good about reminding myself of during the last few seasons of The Flash, knowing I was closer to the end than the beginning, was focusing a bit on the micro too, where it's like 'I laugh every day. I'm smiling and having fun with friends every day. I'm putting a superhero suit on every day, regardless of how uncomfortable it can be.' I was better at focusing on the little things that made me happy. And it's easier right now with this, because I'm only doing this for a short period of time, and I'd better enjoy it while it's happening because I'm going to look back and miss it.
I'm older, more mature, and can appreciate things differently now.
MH: Are the doors closed for any characters you’ve played before? Is signing a multi-year contract too much of a commitment now with other projects you’re looking to play in the future? I know every outlet is picking up on your innocent DMs with James Gunn.
GG: Look, there are no doors right now that are slammed shut for me in any capacity. And that's why I said what I said about James Gunn. I love the Guardians movies, I love what he's done, but the soundbite that's getting picked up everywhere…
MH: It was talking as a fan about Superman.
GG: Yeah. I fell in love with Superman because of Christopher Reeve. I loved those movies as a kid, and have remained a Superman fan my whole life because of those movies. When Brandon Routh was Superman in Superman Returns, I was 16, and I had just gotten my driver's license. I drove to the midnight premiere to see him, with Superman insignias on my car in chalk.
I don't know if he was already following me or not, but I just DMed him and said, 'I can't wait to see what you do with that.' So he just hit me back up and then, yeah, he said he thought I was talented and said that he'd love to work with me someday, which is a very general nice thing to say.
MH: There was no contract, I’m guessing.
GG: Yeah, that did not happen. [And] I don't know what's next in my career. I have a family; I have a second kid on the way. I have stuff to take care of.
MH: With this type of career, how do you get comfortable with failure?
GG: Comfort isn’t something I'm necessarily drawn to. And now, making myself a little uncomfortable is something I kind of actively seek. It was one of the reasons I wanted to do Water for Elephants. I knew I wanted to get on stage. I wanted to do a straight play, because I was scared to sing, and now I'm not doing it just once. I'm doing eight shows a week for a very extended period of time, and you know you're going to make mistakes. You're going to fuck up.
I saw The Boy From Oz at the Imperial, and Hugh Jackman was already Wolverine at that point; he was playing this completely polar opposite character, and he was incredible. And that's still one of my models to this day. I want to get to do it all. I want to get to do musicals on Broadway, and plays on Broadway, and big studio films, and indies, and TV. I hope I'm lucky enough to have a fraction of the career that Hugh has had, and I want to hopefully do it all until the day I die.
MH: Is there some type of preparation for messing up? You’re performing so much, it’s bound to happen. How do you get your mind right for those inevitable mistakes?
GG: You're so vulnerable. I've cracked. I've fucked up lyrics twice, and it's happened to everyone that's played a lead role in this show where it's like, 'Oh, shit.' Your brain just leaves you for a second, and you just have to get back on. That's honestly scarier than cracking. Because you're like, 'What do I do?' In a scene, if you forget a line or you flub, afterwards you just kind of roll with it and try to get back on track.
But it's so easy to let it ruin the rest of your show. It's like, 'Now this audience is going to leave thinking I suck.' But there are a couple of very emotional moments in the show, and I'm singing, and if I need to, I can lean into like, 'Oh no, that was the sound of me crying.' Sometimes there's something you can fall back on.
MH: What if you wake up and you're just like, 'My mental health isn't there.' Or, 'I'm having a bad day, I can’t believe I have to get up and do this.' What helps you overcome that struggle?
GG: Sometimes it's literally just putting one foot in front of the other. You have to. I meditate very briefly before every show, which is part of the routine that helps ground me. It’s also reminded me that, as an actor on camera or on stage, you're going to lose focus. Your mind will wander. And it's meditating in that sense, where it's like, you have a brain and you're human and that's going to happen. Just focus back to your breath briefly, or bring your focus back to the person's face in front of you on stage.
I think when I struggle the most is when I'm thinking about a day in the past, or a day in the future, like all of us. That's what anxiety is. I just try to focus on being present and bringing myself back to the present moment.
MH: You recently said Jesse L. Martin, your former Flash costar and Broadway vet, called and said, 'I bet you got a six-pack right now, man. Broadway gives you a six-pack!' Without lifting your shirt, is there any validity to a 'Broadway six-pack?' What’s your fitness routine look like now?
GG: At home, my routine is my daughter goes to sleep at 7:30, 8:00. When I'm not working, that's when I get in bed.
Or we watch a movie, or read, or whatever, and I'm asleep by 10:00. A lot of times, I wake up at 5:00 or 5:30 to be awake for a couple of hours by myself. I'll either work out or play video games, just do something just for me. I haven't been able to do that since I've been here [in New York City].
I was just too physically tired, and also realized that sleep was going to be really important for my vocal quality. So, for two months I just had to be like, 'I'm not going to work out. I just can't.' I was like, 'All right, well, I'm going to prioritize my family, my mental health, and my vocal health, and I just can't work out right now.'
But since opening, I'm now back working out three or four days a week. Five or six is my goal, but I just have to go easy on myself and be okay that maybe some weeks it's going to be one or two or three.
Ben Bruno is one of my now really good friends and trainer. He trains Justin Timberlake. He trains a lot of athletes and hates being referred to as a celebrity trainer, because it makes him feel like he's not a real trainer. But he's worked so hard to have the clientele that he has. He set me up with his app before I came here, because it helps build my own workouts. I can just go, 'All right, this is what I'm doing today.'
MH: We’ve covered a lot. You’ve been a big-time superhero. You’re a lead on Broadway. Instead of asking what’s next, I’m more curious if there’s a point where you’ll feel content.
GG: Oh, never. Not to an unhealthy degree. Andrew Garfield is one of my favorite actors, and I saw him say something along these lines recently—he'll never be content. I don't want to butcher what he said, but he thinks it's okay. Because that's also what keeps him going as an actor and what pushes him. And I feel that.
I didn't know if I'd ever feel content, or the type of comfort I feel now with my family. I mean, your heart's also outside of your body now, as they say, which is true. It's the scariest kind of love tohave a kid, and for your wife to become a mother. It's like everything becomes so much more precious and important and scary.
The Flash wasn't even something I could have dreamed of, and now I'm doing something that was very much my dream. That's what I remind myself. It's like, look, if I've been able to do the things I've already done, who's to say I can't do any of the other things that I dream of doing someday? Why not believe I'm capable?
I don't know that I'll ever be fully content— but I think that that's an okay answer to have.
This interview has been condensed for content and clarity.
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