Other films include The Dirty Dozen (1967), Ten to Midnight (1983), The President's Assassin (1987), Death Wish V (1994) and Dead to Rights (1995). He became known for playing 'tough guy' characters in such violent thrillers as The Mechanic (1972) and Death Wish (1974). Moviesīronson made his name on the big screen with roles such as Bernardo O'Reilly in The Magnificent Seven (1960) and Danny Velinski in The Great Escape (1963). In his youth, Bronson worked as a coal miner until he was drafted to serve in World War II. Bronson was the 11th of 15 children born to his parents, a Lithuanian-American mother and a Lithuanian immigrant father.

Early Lifeīronson was born Charles Dennis Buchinsky on November 3, 1921, in Ehrenfeld, Pennsylvania. On to Bronson’s workouts and the “belly of the beast”Īfter following his warm-up advice of prowling the lounge shadow-boxing, and feeling a little foolish in the process, we started the descent into madness.American film actor Charles Bronson often played tough-guy, vigilante roles, and starred in films such as The Magnificent Seven (1960), The Great Escape (1963), The Dirty Dozen (1967), The Mechanic (1972) and Death Wish (1974). He admits to being obsessed with fitness, but sees it as a productive outlet for the frustration of hours of solitary confinement that would otherwise have consumed him: “I’ve been to hell and back, an lived in the belly of the beast.” The release and mad joy he finds in every trembling sinew of exercised muscle is palpable and unexpectedly inspiring. His pathological hatred of steroids, all things powdery, fat people and his sincere admiration of ballerinas come across as a surprisingly logical coherent theory and life philosophy. His strength is infamous and he is prone to impressing visitors by doing handstand press-ups on a chair, he also claims to do up to 6,000 press-ups a day. His book is based around a fitness regime he has adopted over years spent in solitary confinement with little or no equipment. Although this mention of fictional demi-gods could set the precedent for a book of rampant sensationalism, Bronson’s book surprisingly talks a lot of sense (ignoring the slightly psychotic anecdotes of course).īronson’s writing style is amusing from the start: “I pick up a muscle mag, I start to laugh and I wipe my arse with it- it’s a joke and a big con, and they call me a criminal!”

Charles bronson fitness