TOP 10: Hottest “American Gladiator” Male Gladiators
This week the podcast debated the Best WWE Champion (1990-Present). While one of my primary rubrics was the relative hotness of the wrestlers in question, I had to largely check my thirst — out of respect to the champions, and also out of respect to my family members on the panel.
But on this blog, I’m going whole hot (emphasis on hog) as I shamelessly ogle the men who starred on the sports-entertainment series American Gladiators. Gladiators first ran in syndication from 1989 to 1996, and then had a two-season reboot in 2008 on NBC.
While we respect all of the performers who donned the spandex and tested the poor bastards who challenged them in the arena, please understand that this list is blatant objectification based on my personal tastes. And no, we will not do a companion piece for the women Gladiators, who were objectified more than enough back in the 80s and 90s. It has nothing to do with the men’s skills or personas. (And definitely nothing to do with their current political leanings…)
In the interest of fairness, I’ve included five picks from the classic American Gladiators and five from the NBC reboot. Disagree with my takes? Did I forget your favorite American Gladiator? Drop a comment below.
Note that the 2008 edition of Gladiators has very few clips available, while the classic show has been surprisingly well archived on YouTube. If you’re interested in Gladiators, I highly recommend checking out the recent Muscles & Mayhem: An Unauthorized Story of American Gladiators docu-series on Netflix all about the O.G. show.
10. Militia
Cuban-born Militia (real name Alex Castro) caught the attention of Gladiator casting while performing as part of a circus act at a charity show. The 6’3” man mountain had previously performed as part of Cirque du Soleil, after a stint in the U.S. Marines (following a tragic immigration story). Since Gladiators, he appeared on the USA show Burn Notice and portrayed the legendary military leader Hannibal in a BBC production.
9. Atlas
There were a few Atlases in the Gladiator franchise, but we’re talking about Phil Poteat, who was part of the original series, coming in during Season 4. Atlas stood 6’4” and his imposing frame was the inspiration for his Gladiator name, referencing the mythological figure who held the world on his shoulders. Poteat was a professional bodybuilder and had all-American good looks, making him an ideal Gladiator. Sadly, Poteat died in 2017.
8: Tower
Tower was one of the taller Gladiators, and to see him work the turret during Assault was quite a sight to behold. Steve Henneberry joined the show as a former Mr. America, and that makes sense; he looks like an Arrow shirt model. After winning his title, he left bodybuilding behind and worked as an actor on numerous shows (including Married…with Children and Knot’s Landing) and went on to the Orlando live Gladiators attraction, before leaving the industry altogether to get into commercial real estate. Now Tower sells luxury units in residential towers.
7. Toa
If Toa — real name Tanoai Reed — looks familiar to you, it may be because he looks similar to his extremely famous cousin: Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. In fact, they look so alike that Reed has become his stunt double on numerous projects, most notably the 2022 DC Extended Universe film Black Adam. Toa was part of the 2008 Gladiators reboot, but he has worked extensively in Hollywood both before and after his stint on the show. He’s also brutally hot.
6. Justice
According to his Gladiators bio, Justice stood 6’8”, 290 lbs., and had 20” biceps. My word. That is…spectacular. And Justice was spectacular on the 2008 reboot. The actual Jesse “Justice” Smith initially started out in professional wrestling, competing on the WWE’s reality competition Tough Enough as Justice Smith. After that he appeared on Battle Dome as Snake and on TV series including Gilmore Girls and NCIS: Los Angeles. One of his passions is martial arts, earning a third-degree black belt in Tae Kwan Do. He performed martial arts on Tina Turner’s 50th Anniversary World Tour, which is genuinely one of the coolest sentences I’ve ever written. Looking at his Instagram page, Justice has daddy’d up exceptionally well.
5. Turbo
Turbo was one of the major players in the original Gladiators series, appearing for almost the entire 90s. Galen Tomlinson came to Gladiators as a decorated young athlete, and put those skills to good use in a variety of events, including Skytrack, The Wall, and Hang Tough. He was also known for his hot head, getting into tussles with more than one competitor. Post-Gladiators, Tomlinson went on to a successful sports-coaching career. One of his athletes was Carli Lloyd, who not only won two Olympic gold medals with the U.S. Women’s Soccer Team, but who is also Tomlinson’s niece, whom he helped raise.
4. Beast
Beast can best be described as an absolute unit. Coming in at 7’ (7’!!!), he was quite literally the biggest thing to hit American Gladiators. Joining the 2008 reboot for its second and final season, Matt Morgan was formerly a college basketball player and a wrestler in the WWE. Allegedly a sample of Morgan’s DNA exists alongside that of Stephen Hawking and other exceptional human being as part of the Immortality Drive, a DNA time capsule that exists on the International Space Station in the event of a human cataclysm. That’s pretty neat.
3. Nitro
One of the most strikingly handsome male Gladiators, Nitro (Dan Clark) was a critical part of the original series. He was a strong Gladiator for the first three seasons, before he left due to a dispute over licensing right. He returned a few seasons later, and then moved from spandex to speaking when he took over color commentating for Season 7. After the show, Nitro would go on to act in a variety of projects (including a memorable cameo in Death Becomes Her) and served as a consulting producer on the 2008 reboot. A year later, he wrote a tell-all book, Gladiator: A True Story of ‘Roids, Rage and Redemption, and he started the Gladiator Rock ‘n’ Run, a race that raises money to cure autism. He suffered a heart attack in 2013, and has since devoted his life to helping people live healthier.
2. Titan
Notable for being the only Gladiator to work on both the original series (as Thor) and the 2008 reboot as Titan, the Gladiator captain, Mike O’Hearn is physically godlike. Everything is chiseled! That chin! Those abs! That physique has earned him a slew of bodybuilding titles, including four Mr. Universe titles, seven-time Fitness Model of the Year, and being voted one of the 12 greatest physiques of all time. He wrote the book Proven Techniques for Drug-Free Bodybuilding and is a sought-after personal trainer and fitness coach. Chiseled! Also he looks even better with his natural brunette hair color.
1. Laser
Laser is one of the most-recognizable male Gladiators, reboot or original. He was the longest-serving male Gladiator, appearing in all seven seasons of the original series. It’s easy to understand why. Laser (Jim Kalafat, AKA Jim Starr) mixed corn-fed Montana beefcake with an intense competitive spirit. To quote Peaches, “the boys want to be him, the girls want to be with him.” Prior to Gladiators he was already a successful athlete, having played professional football in the NFL and Canadian Football League for several years on several teams. He remains a nutrition and fitness professional, and if you’re lucky you might get to meet him on the fan-con circuit.
Who are YOUR favorite American Gladiators? Leave a comment below!