There was no adventure too big for Charles Gaines.
He climbed mountains, trekked across ice, fished, and hunted on almost every continent, writing about every adventure in a way that captured people’s hearts and minds. He was interested in everything - and his interest was contagious.
I’m lucky that he was always looking for new frontiers, because that’s how he found me and our niche sport of bodybuilding.
That’s how the book and the movie Pumping Iron launched me into the mainstream - he wrote that book and then worked relentlessly on the documentary and introduced bodybuilding to millions and millions of people. It’s how I broke into Hollywood with my first big role in Stay Hungry - a movie Charles also wrote.
Most importantly, it’s how I became lifelong friends with Charles.
You hear me say it over and over: I’m not a self-made man.
Today, I honor the amazing life of one of the people who helped make me who I am.
Charles left us today, but he’s not gone.
I can still hear his voice. “Hey Oak!” - always followed by some unbelievable insight or philosophy, always giving us the greatest gift: making us think.
No, he isn’t gone. He lives on in his unbelievable family, and I n all of the lives he touched.
He’s just off on his next adventure.
Caption:
Looking back at Marty Supreme, some of my favorite moments happened because things didn’t go exactly as planned. That’s the magic of filmmaking, you stay in the scene, adapt, and sometimes the mistakes become the best part of the movie.
Josh Safdie gave me one piece of advice before filming, don’t overthink it. Just read the room, put yourself in that moment, and be present. Working with Josh Safdie, Timothée Chalamet, and Gwyneth Paltrow taught me that great acting isn’t about being perfect, it’s about being fully present in the moment.