Waking up in the middle of the night to guzzle protein shakes and eating 10 chicken and rice meals a day.

These are just some of the methods Hollywood hunks like Hugh Jackman and Mark Wahlberg claim they used to achieve their muscular physiques.

But a top plastic surgeon claims the worst kept secret in the businesses is that many of the best lead male bodies were sculpted with the help of performance-enhancing drugs.

With millions of dollars on the line and short timeframes to bulk up, all the incentives are there to use drugs like anabolic steroids, according to Dr Gary Motykie, who runs a cosmetic clinic in Beverly Hills.

There are a few big giveaways when it comes to which actors are using, according to Dr Motykie, who was an amateur natural bodybuilder in his youth.

He is suspicious of actors who hold lots of muscle into their 40s and 50s — like The Rock and Hugh Jackman — because the hormone changes as men enter middle-age mean the body naturally has a harder time keeping muscle mass.

Another hallmark of PED use is actors who go from ‘zero to hero’ in a rapid period of time — like Kumail Nanjiani, who went from weedy comedy actor to ultra-jacked in several months.

Dr Motykie said that even actors who use PEDs still put in a ‘crazy amount of work’ in the gym and kitchen to attain their physique — saying the drugs alone are useless without hard work.

But he hopes to raise awareness about PED use in Hollywood so that men who idolize their Hollywood stars are not disheartened when they can’t achieve the same results.

PEDs are drugs which boost someone’s performance — in this context, in the gym. They include anabolic steroids and human growth hormone, two drugs that boost strength and add muscle.

Natural or not? Dr Motykie gives his verdict on 12 Hollywood hunks: 

Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson

Dr Motykie said: ‘Somebody like The Rock, it is pretty obvious he is doing something — particularly at his age [51 years old] to have that amount of muscle.

‘He is probably on a mixture of testosterone replacement therapy rather than steroid supplementation.

‘But at some point he did admit to using steroids when he was younger. I have definitely seen pictures of him looking more bloated than he does here.’

The Rock admitted in 2009 during an interview with MTV that he had ‘tried’ steroids when he was a teenager.

He said: ‘Me and my buddies tried it back in the day when I was 18 or 19. We didn’t know what we were doing.’

But since then he has claimed to be steroid-free.

Testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) is used to treat low testosterone levels — but clinics have begun doling it out liberally in recent years due to the treatment’s ability to boost muscle mass.

It involves using a synthetic testosterone and when given to someone who does not have low levels, it works like a steroid.

Chris Hemsworth

Dr Motykie said: ‘I am very suspicious for a combination of testosterone with a mixture of growth hormones.

‘I would guess he was on a cocktail of testosterone, growth hormone and probably some of the newer peptides [peptide powders].

‘This is because of the impressive amount of muscle mass he puts on in a short amount of time and how he has fluctuated as well.

‘We saw him in that movie where he was in a race car where he really slimmed down, but then we saw him again not too long after when he had put on a massive amount of muscle.

‘That is impressive but also hard to do without supplementation.

‘But he is definitely also putting the work in in terms of nutrition and time in the gym. You don’t take these drugs and just end up looking like that.’

Hemsworth lost 30lbs over four months in order to play racing car driver James Hunt in Rush in 2013.

But as soon as this film wrapped up, he revealed to Bodybuilding.com how he then had to pile the 30lbs back on within three months to play Thor in ‘Thor: The Dark World.’

In 2015, the star went on an intense 500-calorie-a-day diet to drop 33lbs in four weeks in order to play whaler Owen Chase in the movie ‘In The Heart of The Sea.’

In a previous Thor transformation, he claimed to have consumed 10 meals and 4,500 calories a day in order to achieve the physique.

Hemsworth also runs an app, called Centr, which offers his workouts and diet plan to help someone look like the Thor star.

Zac Efron

Dr Motykie said: ‘I have seen various photos of Zac where he did seem to have bloating and abdominal muscle bloating, which suggests some sort of fluid retention.

‘That makes me a little suspicious that he has been experimenting with testosterone.

‘When I think back to that photo we saw of him where he said he had jaw surgery after breaking his jaw… I was very suspicious that he had also done testosterone because his face was bloated.

‘He said he had jaw surgery and broke his jaw but that wouldn’t have explained the swelling in his upper face and his mid-face and everywhere, so I think that was maybe a combination of him experimenting a little with fillers, some slight surgery and possibly testosterone.

‘Sometimes when athletes get really ripped they lose volume in their face, so to compensate they use fillers.

‘With his veins really popping… that could also be a sign of testosterone, because this can cause thickening of the walls.’

Pictures of Zac Efron with a particularly bloated abdomen emerged last year as he bulked up for the role of heavyweight wrestler Kevin Con Erich in ‘The Iron Claw’.

He has previously admitted in an interview with Men’s Health to using Lasix. a powerful diuretic, to get his lean ‘Baywatch’ physique.

He has not previously said he was using steroids.

Jason Momoa

Dr Motykie said: ‘He reminds me more of The Rock.

‘He’s got that built muscle mass, particularly in the upper body, so I would be suspicious that at some point in time he did testosterone.

‘I would also be suspicious for some growth hormone.

‘He has a ridge and frontal bossing above his eyebrows, and that kind of very masculine strength to his face.

‘That may be a growth hormone side effect if he’s been using it for a long time — but he may also have naturally matured that way.’

Dr Motykie again pointed out, however, that in order to look this good Momoa would also need to continuously put the work in with the gym and diet.

Most recently speculation emerged he was using steroids following his appearance in the movie ‘Aquaman’.

Kumail Nanjiani

Dr Motykie said: ‘I am suspicious for growth hormone and testosterone replacement therapy.

‘You can see the vascularity, the massive shoulders showing the upper body growth and the larger abdominals that can appear a bit bloated.

‘That, to me, is suspicious for those.

‘It is possible with that vascularity and the upper abdominal bloating and the massive shoulders with that vascularity: That, to me, is suspicious.’

Nanjiani faced accusations of steroid use following his transformation for the movie ‘The Eternals’ in 2019, which saw him gain 25 to 28lbs of muscle according to his trainer Grant Roberts.

He has previously denied the allegations, saying: ‘The way I look has been way too important to me.

‘And so to hear a bunch of people reaffirming my own darkest thoughts about myself was very difficult.’

He said he worked hard to get jacked for the role to try and break out of stereotypical roles he was being offered, in an interview with USA Today.

‘With brown people, there are very specific roles that we used to get,’ he said.

‘Either we’re terrified or we’re causing terror. Those are the only two options we had. Either I’m fixing your computer, or I’m, like, planning something at the stock exchange.’

Henry Cavill

Dr Motykie said: ‘I think he has probably done a little bit [of testosterone] based on his age at 40 years old.

‘The upper body mass is just a little suspicious to me for testosterone — but not as much as the other guys.

‘Testosterone starts to naturally drop off in the 40s and 50s and some people start feeling the drag and they just can’t work out as much and they don’t get as much muscle response.

‘So, they supplement to get back to the normal levels — but they’re not trying to shoot them up really high.

‘But of course, like everyone else, Henry’s possible supplementation would be in conjunction to an insane diet and workout regimen.’

To play Superman in 2013, Cavill previously revealed how he was consuming 5,000 calories a day consisting of chicken, fish and eggs.

He denied using steroids for the role, telling USA Today: ‘[My trainer] asked, “Would you like to use steroids or HGH [human growth hormone] to get where you want to go?”

‘I immediately said no. And he said, “Good. Because if you did, I wouldn’t train you.’

He added: ‘To take a shortcut to get to that place is not what Superman represents. It was important to me. That’s when I learned what work was.’

He has not commented on steroid use more recently.

Mark Wahlberg

Dr Motykie said: ‘I think he may have experimented at one point… to put on that initial bulk. But to me, he looks good.

‘I don’t see as much of, like with The Rock, the high trapezius muscles and a big neck and a bulk chest — he just seems to be keeping himself in good shape.’

He added that: I also don’t see any side effects of performance-enhancing drugs like growth hormone and peptides — such as a more Neanderthal look with high frontal bossing or larger hands, feet and jaw bone.

But I would be suspicious again that he is using them because he has the money and the access.

‘If he is using them, though, he is not abusing it, he is just using it to enhance his performance and muscle mass — while being closely monitored.’

He also suggested it was possible Wahlberg was using testosterone replacement therapy because of his age, at 52 years old.

Wahlberg is famed for a unique lifestyle which sees him wake up at 4am and got to bed at 7.30pm.

Wahlberg managed to put on 40lbs of muscle in seven weeks at the age of 40 years for the 2013 movie ‘Pain and Gain’ where he played criminal mastermind Daniel Lugo.

He also gained 30lbs in 2022 for his role as ‘Father Stu’, but admitted afterward that the transformations were ‘bad’ and were taking a toll on his body.

Wahlberg has previously denied taking steroids and allegations in 2018 that he bought them from a steroid salesman, telling TMZ: ‘All natural baby, all the time.

‘I don’t know why he’s saying this crap — that’s hard work, baby.’

Hugh Jackman

Dr Motykie said: ‘His look points more toward growth hormone or some of the testosterone boosters — probably a little bit of testosterone replacement therapy.

‘At his age [55 years], it is very common to be doing the testosterone replacement therapy.

‘His vascularity also makes me slightly suspicious, yes.

‘He does have very low body fat, but when you do see them popping out as well — it is suspicious for something else.

‘All of these guys are also doing work-outs and doing their time in the gym though, you don’t just take it and get these muscles — they are doing it right.’

Jackman has denied taking steroids for his role playing Wolverine.

He told Variety earlier this year: ‘I love my job. And I love Wolverine.

‘I’ve got to be careful what I say here, but I have been told anecdotally what the side effects are of that. And I was like, “I don’t love it that much.”

‘So no, I just did it the old-school way.

‘And I tell you, I’ve eaten more chickens — I’m so sorry to all the vegans and vegetarians and to the chickens of the world. Literally, the karma is not good for me. If the deity has anything related to chickens, I’m in trouble.’

Jake Gyllenhaal

Dr Motykie said: ‘I would be more suspicious of a little bit of growth hormone maybe.

‘His abdomen, again, has that slight bit of bloating there in the muscles — so maybe that is due to just a little growth hormones.

‘But overall, nope, I am not as suspicious for steroids for him. He doesn’t have that massive amount of bulk muscle put on.

‘Growth hormone treats the metabolism to lead to a lot more toned body with a lot more muscle definition.

‘He is also definitely working hard in the gym and with his nutrition and diet.’

Gyllenhaal faced allegations he had used steroids in 2014 when the then 33-year-old gained 15lbs of muscle up to play boxer Billy Hope in the movie Southpaw.

He said at the time that the workouts had taken a toll on his body, adding that he had just trained ‘like a boxer’.

‘We shot the fights in the first two weeks of the movie, so I trained for basically five months up to those fights. We shot four fights in a row.’

Chris Pratt

Dr Motykie said: ‘I do think he is more nutrition, diet and supplementation with growth hormones or peptides than steroids.

‘His physique, if you notice, is not quite as exagerrated as it is with The Rock or Jason.

‘But he is getting into the age range where men would start thinking about supplementing testosterone from late 40s to the early 50s.

‘Peptides are just proteins that help to stimulate muscle growth. They are hard to detect if someone is ever judged or looked at.’

Pratt lost 60lbs in six months for his role in 2014 movie ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ and kept the svelte appearance for his roles in Jurassic World.

Vin Diesel

Dr Motykie said: ‘This is an interesting one.

‘You don’t see the veins popping out and all the other side-effects — but he is 56 years old so I am guessing he is on some low-dose testosterone replacement.

‘I am suspicious of his abdomen in this photo, however, he may have had a little bit of edging or liposuction as the look is a little bit off.’

He added: ‘His muscle mass is not quite as ripped or shredded as the other guys which may be a combination of his diet or a little bit of fluid retention or things like that.

‘There may be a sign of gynecomastia, or the growth of breast tissue, on his chest.

‘If you overdo testosterone, the chest can look bloated — but that isn’t actually muscle.

‘The lower chest there, it is not like the muscles are shredded like in The Rock or Chris Hemsworth — they are just a bit softer.’

Vin Diesel has previously denied steroid use, but told The Tonight Show that there is a lot of pressure on men in Hollywood to look their best.

He said: ‘I’ve never done any type of steroid. The only thing I’ve ever done is protein powder.

‘I’m lucky that I’ve never felt much like I had to do steroids and now as an actor I’m not even thinking about being a bodybuilder or anything.’

John Krasinski

Dr Motykie said: ‘I would say this is the most natural body we have looked.

‘Once you get on the train, you know, it is addictive and you start to dabble in the nutrition or maybe you might be doing some testosterone boosters and some slight peptides. These can really make a huge difference.

‘But it’s when they rapidly gain that bulk that you get very suspicious for the use of steroids or other drugs.

‘For John, I’m assuming that was a lot of hours in the gym for him and good nutrition and diet.

‘I think it looks pretty natural and proportional, overall.’

Krasinski was recently pictured shirtless on a superyacht as part of filming for his latest movie The Fall Guy.