movie muscle

Meet Florian “Big Nasty” Munteanu, the beefy boxer bringing the body to ‘Borderlands’–and your next thirst follow

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Image Credits: Instagram, @bignasty (left) | ‘Borderlands,’ Lionsgate (right)

In this post-The Last Of Us world, it seems like Hollywood is finally making video game adaptations with the gays in mind (after all, as GLAAD reports, nearly 1 in 5 gamers identify as LGBTQ+).

Otherwise, we don’t know how else you explain the bananas cast of the upcoming sci-fi flick Borderlands, which features iconic actresses like Cate Blanchett and Jamie Lee Curtis, hunky gay daddy Cheyenne Jackson, and young Barbie breakout Ariana Greenblatt, among others.

From director Eli Roth, Borderlands adapts the popular multi-platform video game series for the big screen, following the adventures of mysterious outlaw Lilith (Blanchett) teaming with a rag-tag group of mercenaries (also featuring Kevin Hart and Jack Black) to track down the missing daughter of a greedy capitalist on a hostile planet filled with aliens and bandits.

Seriously, Cate Blanchett as a blaster-toting, fire-haired alien bounty hunter who kicks *ss and takes names in a massive CGI-heavy action movie? We’re convinced a gay man was behind this casting!

And we haven’t even gotten to the most blatantly gay-baiting (in a good way) facet of this whole thing: Hunky German boxer-turned-actor Florian Munteanu is in it—and it looks like he’s going to be shirtless for most of the movie.

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We’ve combed through video game adaptations—the good, the bad, and the insane—to find some worthwhile picks that actually heavily features queer themes and actors.

Munteanu stars as Krieg who, in the Borderlands games, is said to be one of many roving, psychotic bandits but nevertheless develops on conscience and winds out helping out the heroes. In the film, Krieg is the sworn protector of feisty young demolitions expert Tiny Tina (Greenblatt). Not one for words, the masked Krieg appears to be the de facto muscle of our band of misfit marauders.

Emphasis on the muscle because, well… just look at the guy! It’s just a shame that Krieg wears a mask the whole movie, because Munteanu’s got quite the face, too. In fact, he’s kind of the whole package.

Born in Germany, the 33-year-old Munteanu followed in his father’s footsteps to become a boxer, competing under the ring name “Big Nasty” (yes, really). Thanks to his hulking frame and athletic background, he was cast in 2018’s Creed II to play Viktor Drago—the son of iconic Rocky Balboa nemesis Ivan Drago (famously played by Dolph Lundgren)—which became his international acting breakthrough.

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The 37-year-old father of 10 has made headlines again, but this time it’s not for claiming he was drugged and had no memory whatsoever of filming a steamy gay porno.

Following the success of Creed II, the performer also scored roles in its sequel Creed III, the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s Shang-Chi And The Legend Of The Ten Rings, the 2022 military thriller The Contractor, and the upcoming final season of Netflix‘s historical epic Vikings: Valhalla.

Notably, Munteanu’s hasn’t really spoken publicly about any romantic partners or made any comments about his sexuality, so a lot of gays out there are holding out hope that he’s one of us. At the very least, Gay Twitter™ seems to be very excited about the prospect of seeing him on the big screen once again:

By the time Borderlands hits theaters and the next season of Vikings: Valhalla drops on Netflix later this year, everybody’s going to want a piece of Florian Monteanu, so you might as well hop on this Thirst Train early.

Scroll down below for more pics from Monteanu’s Instagram that’ll have you shouting, “All aboard!”:

And, by the way: Borderlands is among the nominees for “Next Big Thing” at this year’s Queerties Awards. Polls close at midnight on Thursday, February 22, so don’t miss you chance to vote for it and all of your LGBTQ+ favorites in pop culture and entertainment!

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