Actors regularly take extreme measures to achieve impressive physiques – but not Alex Hassell. Throughout both the first and second series of Rivals, the 45-year-old regularly shows off a ripped torso that matches the athletic build of his character, Olympic gold medal-winning showjumper Rupert Campbell-Black.
But while the Rivals star worked hard in the gym to achieve Campbell-Black’s lean, statuesque physique, Hassell refused to take things to unhealthy extremes.
‘Rupert is supposed to look statuesque and heroic, so I do my best with a trainer. I don’t do any silly diets – I think it’s dangerous to set those standards for young men,’ he told Radio Times.
In an era where actors often rely on highly restrictive diets and brutal cutting phases to get screen-ready, Hassell’s more balanced approach feels relatively refreshing. Rather than chasing unsustainable conditioning, he focused on building a believable athletic look that matched the physicality of the role.
Training for the series extended far beyond aesthetics, though. Hassell also needed to convincingly portray an elite horse rider, despite having almost no previous experience before filming began.
Having ridden just once prior to shooting Rivals, the actor spent months learning how to canter and handle himself confidently around horses. Fortunately, he quickly grew to love it, eventually performing many of his own riding scenes and stunts.
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‘I ride a fair amount in this show and I absolutely loved it. You don’t get long to learn, and it was fairly alien to me, but I had very brilliant trainers who gave me a crash course in how to hold myself in a convincing way. It’s also about how you stroke them, feel confident around them,’ Hassell told Horse and Hound.
‘I didn’t fall off. I’m nearly galloping. I don’t think they’d quite let me gallop in case something goes wrong. But on the whole it’s me riding the horse.’
The riding itself also became a workout of its own, demanding balance, coordination, posture and lower-body endurance throughout filming.
Brendan Patricks, another actor appearing in Rivals, explained that preparing for the riding scenes took around two months before filming even started.
‘What appears on screen for a few minutes often takes weeks – or in this case, months – to prepare,’ he wrote on his blog.
‘Before filming began, we spent two months training properly for the polo scenes. That meant early starts, sore muscles, learning control, balance, timing and how to handle the pace of the game while making it all look effortless.’
Ryan is a Senior Writer at Men’s Health UK with a passion for storytelling, health and fitness. Having graduated from Cardiff University in 2020, and later obtaining his NCTJ qualification, Ryan started his career as a Trainee News Writer for sports titles Golf Monthly, Cycling Weekly and Rugby World before progressing to Staff Writer and subsequently Senior Writer with football magazine FourFourTwo.
During his two-and-a-half years there he wrote news stories for the website and features for the magazine, while he also interviewed names such as Les Ferdinand, Ally McCoist, Jamie Redknapp and Antonio Rudiger, among many others. His standout memory, though, came when getting the opportunity to speak to then-Plymouth Argyle manager Steven Schumacher as the club won League One in 2023.
Having grown up a keen footballer and playing for his boyhood side until the age of 16, Ryan got the opportunity to represent Northern Ireland national futsal team eight times, scoring three goals against England, Scotland and Gibraltar. Now past his peak, Ryan prefers to mix weightlifting with running – he achieved a marathon PB of 3:31:49 at Manchester in April 2025, but credits the heat for failing to get below the coveted 3:30 mark…
You can follow Ryan on Instagram @ryan.dabbs or on X @ryandabbs_
