Blog · October 24, 2026
Celebrity Deadlifts: Heaviest Pulls by Famous Non-Athletes
Across the 60 famous non-athletes with deadlift records in the data, the top 25 marks run from 400 lb (181 kg) up to 710 lb (322 kg). The ranking brings together film actors, rappers, authors and a physician.
Former California governor and actor Arnold Schwarzenegger holds the #1 spot with a recalled all-time gym best of 710 lb (322 kg) from his bodybuilding era. Every entry in the table tracks the weight on the bar, the context of the lift, and the effort type: a personal max or PR, a working set, an effort of unknown status, or a competition lift.
Working sets and estimated maxes near the top
The table ranks lifters by estimated one-rep max. For a single, the ranking uses the load on the bar itself. When a lifter logs a multi-rep set, the ranking uses an estimated one-rep max, which allows a multi-rep working set to rank above a heavier single. Working set marks capture training sets. Effort-unknown marks have no stated max status.
At #5, X-Men and The Greatest Showman actor Hugh Jackman appears near the top of the list through a multi-rep training set. At age 44, following The Wolverine in 2013, Jackman pulled 210 kg (463 lb) for 5 reps during a training session in New York. A blog comment signed by his trainer, David Kingsbury, described the lift, which Jackman shared in a tweeted photo, as the top set of a 5x5 progression building up; the commenter is not verified. That working set gives Jackman an estimated one-rep max of at least about 245 kg.
Right behind him at #6, Brooklyn Nine-Nine actor and former NFL player Terry Crews pulled 500 lb (227 kg) for 2 reps at age 46. Crews did the lift on the morning of his interview and did not call it a maximum. Recorded as a working set, his 500 lb (227 kg) set of 2 reps carries an estimated one-rep max of at least about 533 lb. This places him ahead of the heavier marks of 501 lb to 530 lb at #7 through #9.
Different paths to the 500 lb mark
A noticeable pattern across the data is the cluster at 500 lb (227 kg), which spans every spot from #10 through #15. The lifters tied at that weight got there at very different ages, bodyweights, and settings.
Physician and author Peter Attia (#15) recalled a 500 lb (227 kg) personal max from his high-school powerlifting years at a bodyweight of 160 lb. Rapper Flo Rida (#13) also pulled 500 lb (227 kg) in high school, completing the lift in sandals. His high-school pull is listed with effort unknown and is not a confirmed personal max.
Hybrid athlete and fitness creator Fergus Crawley (#12), known for his 500Five and 1200Twelve challenges, pulled a 500 lb (227 kg) personal record at 93.5 kg bodyweight and 181 cm tall, then ran 5 km to finish both tasks in under 20 minutes.
Role preparation and platform meets
Several entries come from movie preparation with a trainer or from self-reported gym history. Others come from powerlifting meets.
To prepare for Man of Steel in 2011-2012, actor Henry Cavill (#18) trained with Mark Twight for about one year beginning in February 2011. Working at age 27-28, Cavill reached a 435 lb (197 kg) deadlift personal record.
On the competition platform, Twitch streamer Tyler1 (#4) completed a 550 lb (249 kg) deadlift at the inaugural Twitch Rivals: loltyler1 Power Meet in 2021. Author James Clear (#9) pulled a 501 lb (227 kg) personal best at his first official powerlifting meet in 2016. Fitness creator Meg Gallagher (#22) pulled 185 kg (408 lb) at the 2018 USA Powerlifting Raw Nationals.
Want to see how your own deadlift compares with the pulls on this list? Plug your numbers into famousprs.com to stack your lifts and run times against famous people.
Each person appears once, with the same best record as their page: for a lift, the highest estimated one-rep max; otherwise the most reps or the fastest time. "Working set" and "Effort unknown" marks are training numbers, so the person's true best may be higher. How the data is collected.