Training properly in a gym for the first time he developed his incredible physique and won the Mr Britain contest in 1949. With the support of his family he travelled to America to train with some of the biggest names in the field and returned to London to enter the second Mr Universe contest in 1950.
He placed a close-fought second to the American Steve Reeves. Developing a new training regime and increasing his physique even more, Park entered the contest again the next year and won outright.
In the late 1950s, Park's old rival Steve Reeves had been cast in the fantasy film Hercules (1958) - it become one of the most popular films of the year and producers across Europe rushed to film similar productions to cash in.
In late 1960 Reg Park got the call from a studio in Rome and flew up to take part in a screen-test.
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