Uli Latukefu is 198.5 cm (6 ft 6 in) tall, measured when he was our September 2019 cover star. The Australian actor of Tongan descent, born in 1983, is best known for playing the young Dwayne Johnson in NBC’s Young Rock and Byamba in Netflix’s Marco Polo. Next he plays one of gaming’s best-known villains: in August 2026 Deadline reported he had been cast as Ganondorf in Sony and Nintendo’s live-action The Legend of Zelda, in cinemas on 30 April 2027.
Below: the eight-week workout and diet that took him from 121 kg to 109 kg for an action-hero role, in his own words and his coach’s, plus the Zelda casting and every major film and TV credit.
- Height: 198.5 cm (6 ft 6 in), measured for our 2019 cover; some reports list him at 6 ft 5 in (196 cm)
- Full name: Taliaʻuli Latukefu
- Born: 1983 (age 42 or 43)
- Nationality: Australian, of Tongan descent; lives in Sydney
- Weight: 121 kg before his 8-week transformation in 2019, 109 kg after
- Trained at: the National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA)
- Known for: Young Rock (Dwayne Johnson), Marco Polo, Black Adam, Doctor Doctor
- Latest: Countdown (Prime Video) and The Last Anniversary (Binge), both 2025
- Next: Ganondorf in The Legend of Zelda (reported), in cinemas 30 April 2027
How tall is Uli Latukefu?
198.5 cm, or about 6 ft 6 in. That’s the height in his stats for our September 2019 cover story. Some entertainment sites list him at 6 ft 5 in, about 196 cm (GamesReviews, for one). Our figure is the one taken at the 2019 shoot.
His size has shaped his career: he played a young Dwayne Johnson in Young Rock, a superhero in Black Adam, and now a villain who towers over Link in the games. For how the real Rock has changed his own build lately, see why he dropped 21 kg at 54.
Uli Latukefu’s workout: the 8-week transformation he did with Men’s Fitness
In 2019 Latukefu had just finished shooting Danger Close and had a few weeks to get ready for the lead in The Legend of Baron To’a (released in 2020). He trained with Chief Brabon and Emilie Brabon-Hames, and we photographed the result for our September 2019 cover. All quotes below are what he and Chief Brabon told Men’s Fitness in 2019 (September 2019 cover), in the feature “Eight weeks to ripped”.
“I had just finished shooting Danger Close: The Battle of Long Tan, and at the time I was pretty heavy,” Latukefu says. “My next role was the lead in The Legend of Baron To’a, and the character was meant to be extremely athletic – not only in appearance, but also in the way he moved. I needed to learn over a dozen fight sequences and prepare for rooftop-to-rooftop chase sequences that included dodging cars and scaling tall fences. As the lead actor on this movie, I had a responsibility to leave no stone unturned. It was essential that I brought a strong physicality to the role.”
“My good mate and co-star on the TV series Doctor Doctor, Rodger Corser, had been through his own jaw-dropping transformation under the guidance of Chief and Emilie Brabon, and fortunately they agreed to take me on as a client,” he says.
His stats: 121 kg to 109 kg in eight weeks
| Uli Latukefu, 2019 | Stats |
|---|---|
| Age | 36 |
| Height | 198.5 cm |
| Weight, week 1 | 121 kg |
| Body fat, week 1 | 25% |
| Weight, week 8 | 109 kg |
| Body fat, week 8 | 13% |
Our maths on those numbers: 25% of 121 kg is about 30 kg of fat, and 13% of 109 kg is about 14 kg. That’s roughly 16 kg of fat off and 4 kg of lean mass on in eight weeks.
The coach’s strategy
“Uli wanted an action hero physique in eight weeks, but also needed the athleticism that matched the aesthetic,” says Chief Brabon, then head coach at SKWOD – Sweat and Social Club in Sydney and co-founder of Original Bootcamp. “To achieve rapid fat loss while building lean, athletic muscle, we put Uli on a signature DARC™ Protocol that combines high-intensity interval training with athletic-based resistance training.”
The 45-minute workouts were done five times a week. The first three weeks were coached face to face and the remaining five remotely.
“In the final weeks, we used ultra-high intensity interval training and low-intensity steady state training,” Brabon says. “I focused on exercises that challenged both mobility and stability while targeting strength and hypertrophy because these drastically enhance athleticism. This meant traditional exercises that used benches or machines gave way to ones incorporating kettlebells, battling ropes and the landmine.”
DARC stands for dynamic aerobic resistance conditioning: functional weight training and power-building exercises mixed with HIIT-style cardio, so strength and conditioning happen in the same session. “The sessions were intense, yet efficient, but only lasted around 45 minutes,” Latukefu says. “We used equipment that I hadn’t really used before, such as the landmine, which was great for explosive, multi-directional exercises.”
Here are the three DARC workouts from the feature, with the sets and reps as printed. A landmine is a barbell with one end anchored in a corner or a landmine attachment. If you’re new to kettlebells, learn the swing first with our kettlebell workout guide.
DARC workout one: kettlebells
| Exercise | Sets and reps |
|---|---|
| Phase one: repeat for 4 rounds | |
| Alternating kettlebell shoulder press | 6–10 reps each arm |
| Two-handed kettlebell swing | 4 sets × 30 sec work, 15 sec rest |
| Phase two: repeat for 4 rounds | |
| Kettlebell windmill (right) | 6–10 reps |
| Kettlebell windmill (left) | 6–10 reps |
| Alternating (hand-to-hand) kettlebell swing | 4 sets × 30 sec work, 15 sec rest |
- Alternating press: clean two bells to the rack position at your shoulders, punch one fist to the sky (the palm turns away on the way up), pause, pull it back to the rack, then press the other.
- Swings: start with the bell 30–60 cm in front of your toes, flatten your back and hike it between your legs. Keep it above your knees on the backswing and only let it rise to eye level.
- Windmill: feet a little wider than shoulder width, bell locked out overhead, eyes on the bell. With your legs as straight as possible, slide your free hand down the inside of your knee as you rotate, then stand back up.
- Alternating swing: two swings with one hand, then swap hands at the weightless point at the top of the swing.
DARC workout two: landmine and battling ropes
| Exercise | Sets and reps |
|---|---|
| Phase one: repeat for 3 rounds | |
| Single-arm landmine reverse lunge to press (right) | 6–10 reps |
| Single-arm landmine reverse lunge to press (left) | 6–10 reps |
| Standing Russian landmine twist | 6–10 reps across and back |
| Alternating waves on battling ropes | 4 sets × 30 sec work, 15 sec rest |
| Phase two: repeat for 3 rounds | |
| Single-arm landmine rotational snatch (right) | 6–10 reps |
| Single-arm landmine rotational snatch (left) | 6–10 reps |
| Sidewinders on battling ropes | 4 sets × 30 sec work, 15 sec rest |
- Lunge to press: hold the end of the bar at your shoulder, step back into a lunge until your back knee is about 2.5 cm off the floor, then drive off the front heel and punch the bar up as you return.
- Russian twist: face the landmine with the bar straight up above you, twist to lower it slowly towards one hip, swing it back to the top, then go to the other side.
- Rotational snatch: facing away from the landmine in a lunge, drive the bar back with one hand; as it nears your ribs, rotate, bring the other hand up and punch it straight out.
- Ropes: quarter squat, back straight, chest up. Alternating waves should flow to the ends of the ropes; for sidewinders, stand halfway to the anchor and drive the ropes out and in like a huge pair of scissors.
DARC workout three: the weight plate flow
| Exercise | Sets and reps |
|---|---|
| Repeat for 6 rounds | |
| Weight plate flow (below) | 6–10 reps |
| Dual waves on battling ropes | 4 sets × 30 sec work, 15 sec rest |
One rep of the plate flow, holding a weight plate in both hands: hammer curl to your collarbone, overhead press, overhead triceps extension, lower back to your collarbone, hold it out in the steering-wheel position, halo clockwise, halo anti-clockwise, then lower to the start.
Equipment for the shoot came from Gym Direct. For more sessions built on the same idea, see our HIIT workouts; for another actor the Brabons took through eight weeks, read how Travis Jeffery lost 12 kg of fat; and for where they coach now, see their Sydney studio.
Recovery
Latukefu borrowed his recovery from professional athletes and used it during filming and prep for The Legend of Baron To’a. “I did this because I got my fair share of knocks and bruises and from shooting every day, so I needed to be on point with how I treated my body,” he says. “This meant I applied plenty of recovery methods where I alternated between ice baths and hot tubs after training and shooting.
“Another element I found helped was the use of compression boots. They were definitely not the first thing you’d want to do after a 12-hour shoot day, but I needed to show up the next day ready.”
Uli Latukefu’s diet
He followed Emilie Brabon-Hames’s Carb Conscious Nutrition™ program, which cuts out sugars and most carbs for the first few weeks before gradually reintroducing them in smaller portions.
“To shred some serious fat, while increasing lean muscle mass, Emilie created a custom eating plan based on her highly successful Carb Conscious Nutrition™ program,” Chief Brabon says. “This saw Uli strip all alcohol, sugars, fruits and complex carbohydrates from his diet for two weeks, then Emilie slowly started introducing specific clean, purposeful carbs back into his eating plan.
“Throughout the entire transformation, Emilie focused on fuelling Uli’s high-intensity training with carbohydrates sourced mostly from vegetables, while ensuring he was getting plenty of protein from lean meats, fish and vegies.”
What he ate in a day
A typical day in the final two weeks of the transformation:
| Meal | What he ate |
|---|---|
| Breakfast | Omelette with capsicum, mushrooms, avocado, spinach and haloumi, on protein toast |
| Mid-morning | Post-workout protein shake made with almond milk |
| Lunch | Large leafy green salad with lean grilled chicken and almond slivers |
| Mid-afternoon | Sashimi and nori (seaweed) |
| Dinner | Lean beef stir-fry on cauliflower rice, or a lean burger with all the fixings, with crisp lettuce leaves instead of the bun |
| Evening | A small protein shake made with almond milk |
I was never big on eating vegetables – to the point where I actually hated most of them – but now they’ve become part of our cooking at home.
Uli Latukefu, Men’s Fitness, September 2019
“It has been pretty amazing,” Latukefu says of the program. “My daughter was the same, but now she asks for broccoli because it’s our new normal. I think that was the biggest thing for me regarding nutrition. We have revamped our way of eating at home with our meals and it feels good. It’s no secret that you feel better when you put quality fuel in your body. It’s definitely essential to better living.”
Eating on the road
His biggest mistake had been letting meal prep slip when he was travelling. “Variety is key to me,” he says. “Though it’s not always feasible when away from home, mixing up my protein sources, spices and seasoning really helped. I don’t miss any foods in particular because I’ll let myself have it if I really want it, but I’ll have it way less frequently than I used to and in much smaller portions.
“I enjoy feeling fit and healthy, so I avoid that junk food lull you get afterwards as much as I can. It’s wise to see the food for what it is – fuel – and just set to work.”
His healthy hacks
- “I drank black coffee first thing in the morning, as it set me up with low-calorie energy, and I set a goal to drink at least three litres of water each day.”
- “Get creative with cooking. Finding seasoning and cooking method combinations kept me interested. My new favourite is a fish curry with no coconut cream.”
- “I really make my training time count. Finding the balance between being social and training during sessions is important to stay enthusiastic, but if you set a deadline, you will always get the job done.”
Supplements
Our 2019 online story listed a daily stack from Body Science (now BSc): Hydroxyburn Lean 5 protein powder, Hydroxyburn Clinical tablets, Hydroxyburn Shred Ultra pre-workout, Hydroxyburn Sleep Rx and ZMB6+. Product names may have changed since.
His mindset: digging ditches to leading man
Being an actor may look glamorous, but that’s not always the case. “It’s possible to go a long time without an acting gig, which makes it hard to stay hopeful and committed to what’s in your heart,” Latukefu says. “This becomes substantially more difficult if you have a family to provide for. I had projects and roles fall through, some on the day I was due to fly out, so I went back to digging ditches or painting houses. The acting business can be tough, so when I got this chance with The Legend of Baron To’a, I was just grateful and wanted to get to work and show up in the best mental and physical state possible.”
“You’ve got to do the work,” he says. “We all have dreams, visions and aspirations in life, but the reality is that they don’t and won’t ever come to pass if you don’t get your hands dirty and get busy figuring it all out.
“Sometimes the fear of looking stupid, making mistakes or wanting things to be perfect and presentable stops us from moving forward. The refining of yourself and whatever you’re working on in life is a constant process, which you need to embrace. You’ve got to learn that this process demands your patience, where you need to learn, grow, apply and repeat.”
His advice to anyone starting out: “I feel support, accountability and professional guidance are key to success. Having an individual or a group of people who care about you and what you’re doing will always keep you motivated, honest and focused.
“Most of all, you should take the time to enjoy the process. Appreciate the sensation of seeing and feeling your body look and move in a new way at every stage because it’s exciting and very rewarding.”
Uli Latukefu is Ganondorf in The Legend of Zelda
Deadline reported on 6 August 2026, citing sources, that Latukefu had landed the role of Ganondorf, the recurring villain of Nintendo’s series, in the first live-action Legend of Zelda film, on a multi-picture deal. Sony and Nintendo hadn’t officially confirmed it at the time (Game Informer). Wes Ball (Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes) directs, with Benjamin Evan Ainsworth as Link and Bo Bragason as Princess Zelda; Dichen Lachman, Yvonne Strahovski and Sam Neill, in one of his final roles, are also reported in the cast.
The film was shot in New Zealand between November 2025 and April 2026 (Wikipedia), and Sony releases it on 30 April 2027, a week earlier than the 7 May date it had before (80 Level). It’s his biggest role since playing The Champion in Black Adam in 2022.
His most recent screen work: in 2025 he played LAPD detective Lucas Finau opposite Jensen Ackles in Prime Video’s Countdown, which was cancelled after one season (TVLine), and Callum in Binge’s Liane Moriarty adaptation The Last Anniversary (Wikipedia).
Uli Latukefu movies and TV shows
A NIDA graduate, Latukefu was a contestant on Australian Idol in 2004 before his screen career took off with Jonah from Tonga and Devil’s Playground in 2014. His main roles since:
| Year | Title | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 2014–2016 | Marco Polo (Netflix) | Byamba |
| 2017 | Alien: Covenant | Cole |
| 2017–2019 | Doctor Doctor | Darren Ngata |
| 2019 | Danger Close: The Battle of Long Tan | Bombardier Ray Ngatai |
| 2020 | The Legend of Baron To’a | Fritz (lead) |
| 2021–2023 | Young Rock (NBC) | Dwayne Johnson |
| 2022 | Black Adam | Hurut / The Champion |
| 2023 | Next Goal Wins | Nicky Salapu |
| 2023–2024 | Last King of the Cross | Tongan Sam |
| 2024 | MaXXXine | Shephard Turei |
| 2025 | The Last Anniversary (Binge) | Callum |
| 2025 | Countdown (Prime Video) | Lucas Finau |
| 2027 | The Legend of Zelda | Ganondorf (reported) |
Uli Latukefu FAQ
How tall is Uli Latukefu?
198.5 cm, or about 6 ft 6 in, in his stats for our 2019 cover. Some sites list him at 6 ft 5 in (196 cm).
How old is Uli Latukefu?
He was born in 1983, so he’s 42 or 43. He was 36 when he was our cover star in September 2019.
What was Uli Latukefu’s workout?
Coach Chief Brabon’s DARC program: 45-minute sessions five times a week, mixing kettlebells, landmine lifts and battling ropes with high-intensity intervals. He went from 121 kg to 109 kg in eight weeks.
What did Uli Latukefu eat?
No alcohol, sugar, fruit or complex carbs for two weeks, then carbs slowly reintroduced, mostly from vegetables, with plenty of lean meat and fish. A typical day: an omelette, two protein shakes, chicken salad, sashimi, and a beef stir-fry on cauliflower rice.
Who does Uli Latukefu play in The Legend of Zelda?
Ganondorf, the series’ villain, according to Deadline’s August 2026 report. Wes Ball directs the live-action film for Sony and Nintendo.
When is The Legend of Zelda movie out?
30 April 2027, released by Sony Pictures.
Did Uli Latukefu play The Rock?
Yes. He played the older-teenage and young-adult Dwayne Johnson in NBC’s Young Rock (2021–2023). Here’s the Rock’s own workout.
Where is Uli Latukefu from?
He’s Australian, of Tongan descent, and lives in Sydney.
Sources: “Eight weeks to ripped”, Australian Men’s Fitness, September 2019, pp54–59 (photography Jeremy Simons); Deadline (6 August 2026), Game Informer, GamesReviews and 80 Level on the Ganondorf casting and release date; Wikipedia: The Legend of Zelda (film); Wikipedia: Uli Latukefu; TVLine and Wikipedia: The Last Anniversary on his 2025 roles. Checked 28 October 2026.
