Movie star's $46,000 'muscles' spark heated debate online

Special effects artists model prosthetics on Zhang Hanyu. [Photo/Weibo]

41-year-old Hollywood actor Christian Bale, who played Batman, once lost 13 kilograms in order to star in The Fighter, which earned him an Oscar, and then worked to gain a bloated belly in order to play his character in American Hustle.

Zhang's supporters, however, say movie fans should be tolerant of Zhang's fake muscles. After all, many actresses use padded bras to make their breasts look bigger.

Often playing the part of tough guys, Zhang is actually a reputable and recognized actor in China. In 2008, Zhang won the Best Actor Award at the 29th Hundred Flowers Awards and the Best Leading Actor Award at the Golden Horse Film Awards. The following year, Zhang won the Outstanding Actor Award at the Huabiao Awards.

Starring Feng Xiaogang, a big name Chinese director known for commercially successful comedies, Mr.Six has garnered more than 200 million yuan at the box office since it was released on Thursday.