One minute you're an athlete lifting weights, the next, you're raising swords on the set of Spartacus: House of Ashur.
Incredible? Yes. Unbelievable? Not quite.
Step forward Daniel Bos, the Aussie para-powerlifter, who's swiftly becoming a star in his own right, after landing a memorable role in the gladiatorial drama.
Bos, who's competing on Friday at Glasgow 2026 in the lightweight para powerlifting event, thrilled audiences with his punchy depiction of gladiator Balbus in the Spartacus spin-off- a part that chimed perfectly with his sporty, bodybuilding history.
His route there, however, was far from standard. Acting, he insists, was "never planned". So how did he move quite so rapidly from bench presses to the Brothers Ferox?
According to Bos, it was all down to timing and just a little bit of luck.
"My mate sent me an ad for this role, saying they wanted dwarf gladiators for this thing. And that was it. That's as brief as the ad was. And I just thought: "You know what? I'm going to put my name down and see what happens. I'll go down to Sydney for an audition. It will be a day off work. I will go down on the Wednesday, come back Thursday."
"Then I get down there, and realise the gravity of this and how big this role is. It has its own universe. And I'm like:" I've never acted before. What the heck do I do here?
"I did my first audition. Butchered the lines. But luckily they invited me back for a second one, as they'd obviously seen something in me. So I thought:"Ok, I'm going to give this a good crack.
"I studied the lines, came down a week later, did it, got an agent, waited six weeks and assumed I didn’t get it, because in the acting world, you don't hear from them if you don't get the role.
"Then I got the call saying yes. I was going to be in New Zealand for four months. And a month later, there I was."
It's a remarkable feat, given Bos' complete lack of acting experience. Before long, however, the 29 year old was mixing it up with some of the best stunt men and women in the business.
He said: "I play a dwarf gladiator, with two dwarf gladiator brothers. We're the villains of the show. We run amok and cause a lot of headaches for the other characters.
“Karma eventually comes around for us all in the show, but it was the coolest thing I have ever done. One of my brothers, Leigh Gill, played in The Joker with Joaquin Phoenix and my other, Mikey Thompson, was from Sydney as well.
"I'd never done any acting before. We only had three weeks beforehand for rehearsals. So you're doing stunts, fights and everything, which was all new. Then three weeks later, you're shooting.
“The night before the show, I was really nervous, but when I got on set, I loved it. Loved the creative side. I felt like Harry Potter when he goes to Hogwarts for the first time.
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“It has definitely changed my life in terms of plans. I never want to work a normal job again. I genuinely got the feeling that I want to do this for the rest of my life. I want to create. Go into work and want to be there. It doesn't matter what day of the week it is. That's a really nice feeling when you have that, and I bring that into my sport as well.
“I get the same feeling with bodybuilding and powerlifting. I like the structure. Doing structured things that I want to do and that I love, is the way I like to live my life."
Para-powerlifting, he admits, is perfectly suited to his quiet sense of ambition.
In some ways, he takes after his father Willem, who also represented Australia in Para-powerlifting at the 1996 Atlanta Paralympic Games.
He said: "It's kind of crazy that my dad did this too. He went to the '96 Paralympics and did bodybuilding as well. Maybe not as seriously as me. He never forced me to do anything, but it was always there if I wanted to do it.
" Psychologically, if you break it down, I was always around training, grew up watching the likes of Arnold Schwarzenegger and Jean-Claude Van Damme. I think I was probably always meant to do this, but I was never forced into it. It's pretty cool that my dad reached the level he did.
"As for myself, I've now been fast-tracked. To do this sport for a year and then suddenly to be at a Commonwealth Games, I'm a bit like: "What's happening? Is this some sort of dream? Fifteen months ago, I wasn't even in this sport."
Spotted by Paralympic scouts after rising through the ranks, his journey to the Games has been unorthodox, to say the least. Being in-situ in Glasgow, however, has cemented a burgeoning appreciation for those, like himself, who do their utmost to be "better". Then there's the fact that these Games almost never happened at all - after the state of Victoria pulled out from hosting the sporting extravaganza in 2023. It is, he admits, a bit of a "pinch me" moment, with Glasgow pulling off a blinder to keep the Commonwealth Games on track.
"It's just very, very surreal," said Bios.
"Obviously, you qualify for the Commonwealth Games and then focus on your training, and it doesn't quite feel that real. Then I went to a Commonwealth Games dinner where you meet other athletes from other sports, and I thought:"This is really cool."It suddenly all becomes real. It was the same with Spartacus. You have the "this is real now" moment.
"For me, this is a good opportunity to represent your country and meet other athletes who are like-minded. For Para athletes in particular, Glasgow 2026 is very special.
“It's one of the few events in the world where able-bodied and para athletes come together. It's just very special to show this elitism in both fields and to come together. I think it's very powerful. Valuable, too.
Realistically, then, is a medal now achievable?
"My dream outcome at the Commonwealth Games is to do an all time PR(personal record)," said Bos.
"The most I've done in training is 153 kg. In competition, it's 151kg. It's a big ask, though.
"I'm going to try my best and see how things move on the day. That's what it comes down to. Making sensible decisions to be able to make lifts, not let the ego take over as much as it wants to.
"It was never my ultimate plan to make a Commonwealth Games. It sort of just happened that way.
"Now I'm at the Commonwealth Games, you never know what could happen. You've got to put your name down to things and take risks. That's what you've got to do. You've got to try, you've got to jump when you're scared.
“Next up, I'll be looking to qualify for the Paralympics in LA. I'm just going to keep my head down, keep doing the basics. It's all about how you perform when nobody is watching.
“It's all well and good to be in front of a crowd and be pumped about it. But to achieve something, you need to do it for yourself first. Everyone around you is relaxing, but you've still got to train because you've got a competition. That's what it's about. How you do things when your back is up against the wall. That's the dream, doing well through those moments."
