Frank Grillo has never really known how to sit still.
Long before Hollywood, action movies, and roles that required him to look like he could legitimately handle himself in a fight, Grillo was an athlete. He wrestled, lifted weights, boxed, trained jiujitsuitsu, and developed the kind of relationship with fitness that has little to do with preparing for a particular role.
Today, the 60-year-old actor still trains every day. He boxes for roughly 90 minutes, follows that with strength and conditioning five or six days a week, and remains fascinated by combat sports, performance, and what the human body can do.
For Grillo, staying fit isn’t a Hollywood obligation. It’s part of who he is.
When we caught up with him, he was between workouts, eating cottage cheese and talking about everything from his preparation for Boss Level to testosterone replacement therapy, mental health, faith, sobriety, and why men need to take a more responsible approach to their health as they age.
Building for More Than the Job
If there’s one role that tested Grillo physically more than the others, it was playing Roy Pulver in the action-packed dark comedy Boss Level.
In the film, Grillo plays a former special forces operative caught in a time loop and forced to fight his way through the same deadly scenario repeatedly. The production didn’t simply require him to look like an action hero. He had to move like one.
For eight weeks, Grillo had a strength and conditioning coach, a boxing trainer, and a gym built into the house where he was staying.
“Boxing every day for my cardio and then real heavy lifting,” he says.
His trainer, Brendan Johnson, put him through what Grillo describes as an almost powerlifting-style routine.
“We got me really strong, but really big and pretty lean,” he says.
The result was a physique that looked ready for the role, but came with a price.
Grillo normally walks around at roughly 165 pounds. For Boss Level, he pushed himself to around 190 pounds while staying exceptionally lean.
“The biggest problem was getting rid of it,” he says.
Losing the muscle wasn’t a matter of simply backing off the weights for a few weeks. It took roughly a year for Grillo to return to his normal size in a way he considered healthy.
“I would never want to do that again,” he says. “I’m too old.”
It’s a revealing answer from someone who has spent decades pushing himself physically. Getting into extraordinary shape for a role may look impressive on screen, but Grillo has learned that the body keeps the receipts.
Training Has Never Been About Hollywood
The irony is that Grillo doesn’t actually need a movie to motivate him to train. Even when he isn’t preparing for an action role, his routine remains demanding.
He boxes for approximately 90 minutes every day and incorporates strength and conditioning five or six days a week. His training has evolved over the years, but the consistency hasn’t changed. Wrestling introduced him to competitive athletics, while boxing, Jiu-Jitsu, CrossFit, and strength training have each played a role at different points in his life.
“I did CrossFit for a while in New York and got a few injuries,” he says. “I was a little obsessed with that for a minute, but it was a bit much on my nervous system. Boxing and trying to do CrossFit the same day was a little much.”
Combat sports ultimately became the area that held his attention most. Grillo says he is fascinated by the culture surrounding fighting, which is one reason he traveled around the world for Netflix’s Fight World. The series allowed him to immerse himself in different fighting communities and explore why various cultures developed their own unique approaches to combat.
That fascination extends to Jiu-Jitsu, which Grillo began practicing long before the discipline became as mainstream as it is today. He also continues to follow boxing and MMA closely and describes himself as someone who is drawn to the discipline required to become an elite fighter.
For Grillo, the appeal isn’t simply about looking tough. It’s about what training reveals about a person’s character.
From ‘Boss Level’ to ‘Tulsa King’
Grillo’s physicality has become an increasingly recognizable part of his screen presence, but his recent work on Tulsa King has allowed him to explore a different side of the action genre. The Paramount+ series, led by Sylvester Stallone, brought Grillo into the same orbit as one of the actors who helped define the larger-than-life action stars Grillo grew up watching.
His relationship with Stallone goes beyond simply sharing the screen. Grillo has known and worked around Stallone for years, and he describes the opportunity to work alongside him as another connection to the generation of actors who helped shape his own approach to physicality and action.
“I’ve been around Arnold through Sly, through Tulsa King, and through friends,” Grillo says. “He’s been so inspirational and motivational in that world.”
That connection is particularly meaningful for Grillo because Stallone represents much of what he appreciates about the action genre: longevity, physical preparation, and the ability to continue reinventing yourself without abandoning the physicality that made audiences connect with you in the first place.
Grillo has spent much of his career working alongside actors and athletes who understand that physical credibility matters. Whether he’s preparing for a fight scene, stepping into a demanding action role, or simply showing up for his daily training, he approaches the work with the same mentality he’s had since he was a kid.
The difference now is that Grillo is increasingly interested in what allows him to sustain that level of performance for the long haul. His training, recovery, testosterone replacement therapy, sleep, and mental health have all become part of a much larger conversation about what it means to remain capable as he gets older.
For Grillo, Tulsa King is another chapter in a career that continues to put him alongside the kind of larger-than-life personalities he grew up admiring. But the physical preparation behind those roles remains grounded in something much simpler: He genuinely loves the work.
From Joe Weider to the Olympia
That appreciation for physical culture also connects Grillo to the history of Muscle & Fitness. He grew up during the era when Joe Weider and Arnold Schwarzenegger were helping transform bodybuilding from a niche pursuit into a mainstream fitness movement.
Today, Grillo trains at Gold’s Gym Venice, where he sees images of Weider and Schwarzenegger every day.
“It’s the Mecca,” he says.
Although Grillo may not consider himself a traditional bodybuilding follower, his appreciation for the sport runs deep, particularly when it comes to the physiques and personalities that helped define its golden era. His connection to fitness goes back to the influence of Joe Weider, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and the culture they helped bring into the mainstream. For Grillo, bodybuilding has always represented more than simply building muscle. It is about discipline, symmetry, athleticism, and the pursuit of physical excellence.
“I’ve always loved the beauty and symmetry of guys like Arnold, Frank Zane, and Lee Haney,” Grillo says. “They were beautiful to look at.”
That appreciation makes the Olympia a natural fit for Grillo, who sees the event as a celebration of the same fitness culture that has been part of his life since he first picked up a Joe Weider weight set as a kid. While his own training has evolved toward boxing, combat sports, and functional strength, Grillo continues to appreciate what bodybuilding has contributed to the larger fitness world.
“I love fitness. I love fit bodies,” he says. “Arnold changed fitness. He really did in the ’70s and ’80s. He made it mainstream and really made it a household sport.”
When the possibility of attending the Olympia comes up, Grillo is immediately receptive. “It’d be awesome,” he says, hinting at a potential trip to the biggest weekend in bodybuilding.
Grit’s Not Going To Carry You
For most of his life, Grillo approached aging the same way he approached training: work harder, stay disciplined, and keep moving. Eventually, however, routine bloodwork gave him a reason to reconsider whether discipline alone was enough to maintain the level of performance he expected from himself.
Grillo’s physician, Dr. Rand McClain, discovered that his testosterone was unusually low during a routine checkup. Grillo recalls his testosterone level being around 200, a number that prompted McClain to question how he was maintaining such a demanding training schedule.
“He said to me, ‘I don’t know how you do what you do and recover and are able to do it so consistently,’” Grillo recalls.
His initial response was essentially that he had always been disciplined. His doctor, however, challenged that assumption.
“‘Grit’s not going to carry you through the third act of your life,’” Grillo remembers him saying.
That conversation led Grillo to explore testosterone replacement therapy. He admits that he initially questioned the idea because he was already training hard and felt that he was doing everything he could to maintain his health. After reviewing his bloodwork and deciding to try TRT under medical supervision, however, he noticed changes that he hadn’t expected.
“I didn’t realize how tired I was before and how I wasn’t recovering properly and how I wasn’t training at my peak,” he says.
Grillo compares the experience to giving up alcohol. He had previously believed that drinking wine every day wasn’t having much of an effect on him, but it wasn’t until he stopped that he realized how different he felt without it. He describes his experience with TRT in a similar way.
“It’s like when I started taking it, I realized how tired I was before,” he says. “It changed my life. It really did. It changed the way I looked and it changed the way I felt.”
He also noticed improvements in his sleep and mood. Grillo says that he once averaged only four or five hours of sleep a night but now regularly sleeps closer to nine hours.
Understanding TRT Before Taking It
As Grillo has become more vocal about testosterone and men’s health, he has also tried to emphasize that TRT shouldn’t be treated as a shortcut or something men should pursue simply because another person is using it.
His first piece of advice is straightforward: Get bloodwork.
“Hands down, you get your blood done first,” he says.
That point is particularly important to Grillo because testosterone levels can vary significantly from one person to another. A man being a certain age doesn’t automatically mean he has low testosterone, and feeling tired doesn’t automatically make someone a candidate for TRT.
“Some guys might be 50 and they might have 700 testosterone,” he says.
For that reason, Grillo believes the process should begin with a physician and objective testing. He says that even telemedicine should involve medical oversight and that patients should understand whether they are actually candidates before beginning treatment.
That philosophy is also part of what drew him to become involved with the $99 TRT Club. Rather than approaching hormone therapy simply as another component of the fitness industry, Grillo says he wants the conversation to center on education, appropriate testing, pharmaceutical-grade products, and responsible decision-making.
“You have to make sure that you are a candidate for it,” he says.
His larger point is that men shouldn’t look at another person’s physique or experience and assume the same treatment will produce the same outcome.
“Everybody is different,” he says.
Looking Beyond TRT
The conversation around men’s health is also expanding beyond traditional testosterone replacement. Peptides, gene therapy, and other emerging approaches to longevity and performance are becoming increasingly common topics among athletes and men looking to maintain their health as they age.
Grillo is fascinated by the possibilities, but he is equally cautious about moving too quickly.
“I think what’s happening with peptides, what’s happening with gene therapy, what’s happening with any number of things that are scientifically and are now proving to be real beneficial for not only longevity, but just day-to-day living, I think it’s great,” he says.
The concern is what happens when innovation moves faster than research.
Grillo points to previous generations of bodybuilders who experimented with substances before researchers fully understood their long-term consequences. He believes today’s consumers need to learn from those experiences rather than repeat them.
“We have to be careful that we’re not dealing with that,” he says.
That caution extends to his own approach. Grillo says he wants to understand what he is putting into his body, give treatments time, and avoid constantly chasing the newest product simply because it has become popular.
“We all need educated consumers,” he says. “And mostly the people who are selling the products need to be a thousand times more responsible than the people buying the products.”
For Grillo, the future of health optimization is promising, but it also requires patience.
“I’m cautiously optimistic,” he says. “It’s all kind of a work in progress.”
The Conversation Men Need to Have About Mental Health
The physical side of aging is only one part of the conversation Grillo wants men to have. His own experiences with sobriety and losing people close to him to suicide have made mental health an equally important part of his definition of wellness.
Grillo says that when someone isn’t in a healthy mental state, adding another variable to the equation isn’t necessarily the answer.
“If you’re not in a good headspace, if you feel off, if you’re despondent and you can’t find joy in life, you don’t want to stick something in your body,” he says. “You want to get this straight first.”
His own response to difficult periods has often involved training. He tells friends to go to the gym, sweat, move, and get the physical benefits that come with exercise. But he is careful to acknowledge that exercise isn’t a replacement for professional help.
“Sometimes that’s not enough,” he says. “And you have to seek professional help.”
His experiences have also made him more attentive to subtle changes in the people around him. He looks for signs that someone is becoming quieter, withdrawing, or losing their sense of happiness. That awareness extends to people who contact him through social media.
Grillo says strangers frequently send him long messages describing what they’re going through. He doesn’t pretend that he can solve their problems, but he tries to encourage them to find professional help and, when appropriate, simply listens.
“Sometimes it’s just the voice, the kindness of a stranger, that might help you,” he says.
For Grillo, that may ultimately be one of the most important responsibilities that comes with having a public platform.
Faith is Worth the Fight
When asked what keeps him centered amid the demands of Hollywood, family, training, and everything else that comes with his career, Grillo doesn’t hesitate.
“God,” he says.
Faith remains an important part of his life, and he believes that maintaining a spiritual foundation has helped him navigate both success and difficult periods.
“I talk to God all the time,” he says. “And I have blind faith.”
Grillo also describes himself as a constant searcher. Whether he’s learning about training, combat sports, emerging health science, or simply trying to better understand himself, he says that curiosity keeps him feeling young.
That may be the thread connecting everything else he does. Training keeps his body engaged, fighting keeps him challenged, learning keeps his mind active, and faith gives him a sense of grounding.
“Being physically fit is part of the equation,” he says, “but all the other stuff is just as much, if not more, part of the equation.”
Still Moving Forward
There is no indication that Grillo plans to slow down anytime soon. He’s still training every day, still boxing, still interested in combat sports, still riding dirt bikes, and still looking for new experiences.
Even as he talks about aging, his focus isn’t on trying to recreate the body he had at 25. Instead, he’s interested in maintaining the ability to perform, recover, explore, and continue doing the things that make him feel alive.
“I don’t expect to train like I did when I was 25,” he says. “But there’s a certain level I know I can maintain.”
That perspective may be more valuable than any individual training program or recovery protocol. Grillo understands that getting older means changing the approach, but he doesn’t believe it requires giving up the pursuit.
The kid who started lifting a Joe Weider weight set at 12 is still there. The wrestler is still there. The boxer is still there. The actor who built a gym for Boss Level is still there.
And so is the gym rat.
For Grillo, the goal isn’t to stop the clock. It’s to keep moving while it runs.
And if he has anything to say about it, he’s going to keep doing exactly that for a long time.
