'Incredible Hulk' Star Lou Ferrigno Is Becoming a Sheriff's Deputy
Lou Ferrigno is best known for wearing a torn shirt, shorts and green body paint as one of the earliest screen incarnations of Dr Bruce Banner in the '70s CBS show The Incredible Hulk — but he will soon be donning a more official uniform. The actor and former bodybuilder, 68, will be sworn in as a sheriff's deputy in Socorro County, New Mexico on Thursday.
"This is not a costume," Ferrigno said in a recent interview. "This I take very seriously and I’m very excited, very proud to be a deputy because my whole life I’ve always wanted to be a sheriff." His official duties will include supporting patrol officers, although his role will be mainly precinct-based.
"People assume it’s just an honorary thing," he continued. "It isn’t, because I’m certified and I have police powers which I’m very proud of. I went through all the driving, the shooting, the studying and it changed my life and I’m very happy to be a real-life hero, protecting life and property."
Ferrigno, whose father was a lieutenant in the NYPD, added that "this is the real thing because I’ve played sheriff over the years in different films," but in addition to drawing on his screen roles, he has plenty of experience of law enforcement in the real world. In 2012, he was sworn in as a reserve deputy in San Luis Obispo, California. He was also a member of the controversial team of volunteers working under Arizona sheriff Joe Arpaio which purposely targeted illegal immigrants in and around the Phoenix valley.
Most recently, Ferrigno (a previous Mr Universe title holder) was appointed to the Presidential Council on Physical Fitness and Nutrition, due to a prior friendship he developed with Donald Trump during his time on The Celebrity Apprentice.
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