IF the entire series of events around Jonathan Majors’s physical assault crimes had not happened and upended his career, the actor would have easily secured awards season nominations and even won some for playing the more troubled Killian Maddox in Magazine Dreams.
Obsessed with bodybuilding, grocery store worker Killian lives each day with the singular goal of sculpting a body fit to be featured in magazines like his bodybuilding hero Brad Vanderhorn (Mike O’Hearn).
Living with his grandfather, Killian has no social or love life. He lacks basic skills to hold conversations with anyone. Killian’s only “friend” is Brad, who he regularly writes letters to in montages akin to Eminem’s Stan music video, despite never receiving a reply.
On top his undiagnosed mental health afflictions, Killian’s psychological problems are made worse by the cocktail of anabolic steroids – or performance-enhancing drugs – that he regularly abuses to achieve his bodybuilding dreams, which naturally takes a toll on his body, leading to an escalating series of breakdowns.
