Born in Montana on January 21, 1926, actor and bodybuilder Steve Reeves moved to California at the age of ten with his widowed mother. He cultivated an interest in bodybuilding while in his teens; by the time he was 17 years old, Reeves had developed quite a Herculean build. After graduating high school, Reeves entered the Army during the latter days of World War II. Upon his release, Reeves decided to enter bodybuilding contests and soon blew his competitors away, winning the titles "Mr. Pacific Coast," "Mr. Western America," and "Mr. America" in 1947. He won the "Mr. World" contest the following year, and in 1950 he became Mr. Universe, beating Reg Park. While a success in the sport of bodybuilding, luck with Reeves' other interest, acting, seemed elusive. He enrolled in acting classes and nearly landed the role of Samson in Cecil B. DeMille's Samson and Delilah (1949), a part that was eventually won by Victor Mature. Reeves would have to wait nearly ten years before his second shot at stardom.

He was in small TV roles on the basis of his "build"; one of his early jobs on the weekly sitcom Topper garnered more fan mail than any other episode of that series. Reeves' first movie speaking role was in Jail Bait, a 1954 cheapie directed by the one and only Edward Wood Jr.. He then headed to Europe, attaining worldwide fame via entrepreneur Joseph E. Levine's Hercules films.

Steve Reeves starred in (and occasionally produced and scripted) Italian sword-and-sandal epics until retiring to count his money in 1968.