Eddie Hall Live from England: The Conversation That Closed the Taming the Beast World Premiere

A view by Guido Baechler, Lead Executive Producer

The final credits of Taming the Beast were still rolling inside the Küchlin Varieté Theater in Basel when another face appeared on the screen.

Eddie Hall was waiting for us live from England.



After watching a deeply personal two-hour-and-ten-minute documentary about his life, the audience suddenly had the opportunity to speak directly with the man they had just spent the evening getting to know.

And Eddie gave them another 22 minutes.

What followed was one of my favourite parts of the entire world premiere.
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There was no carefully prepared press interview and no publicity script. It was simply Eddie, the filmmakers, and an audience in Basel talking honestly about what they had just experienced together.

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No Intermission—and One Very Patient Audience

There was one small logistical problem.

Taming the Beast runs for approximately two hours and ten minutes, and we had deliberately screened the film without an intermission. Eddie was already online as the end credits rolled, so we went directly into the live conversation.

By that point, quite a few members of our audience understandably had another urgent priority.

The bathroom.

When we eventually opened the discussion to questions from the audience, I found myself running around the theatre with a microphone while a significant part of the crowd had temporarily disappeared.
And in typically Swiss fashion, some of those who had stepped outside seemed far too polite to walk back into the theatre while Eddie Hall was speaking.

So if the room looks slightly emptier toward the end of the video, now you know why.
Those who remained, however, asked some excellent questions.

​Opening Up About Eight Years of His Life

The conversation began with perhaps the most obvious question after watching the documentary: what was it like for Eddie to put some of the most difficult and emotional parts of his life on screen?

Eddie explained that sharing his thoughts publicly wasn't entirely new to him. Years of social media and YouTube had already made openness part of his public life.

But Taming the Beast went considerably further.

The documentary pushed him into areas he hadn't explored publicly in the same depth before: depression, fear, stress, his past, his future, and the psychological consequences of reaching the goal that had consumed so much of his life.

And Eddie reminded us of something that's easy to forget when watching a finished film.
This wasn't six months of his life captured by cameras.

It was eight years.

Years containing enormous highs and equally significant lows.

Perhaps most strikingly, Eddie spoke about the assumption that winning World's Strongest Man should have solved everything. From the outside, reaching the top looks like the happy ending.
For Eddie, it wasn't.

He reflected on how difficult the years after winning became and even wondered whether achieving his ultimate ambition relatively early in life had created another problem: suddenly, the goal he'd spent years chasing was gone.

That idea is central to Taming the Beast.
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What happens after you achieve the dream?

​Why Mental Health Became the Heart of the Film

The conversation also brought directors Chris Fretwell and Josias Tschanz into the discussion.

Chris recalled an early encounter with Eddie at his home. Eddie began talking about his grandmother and became emotional, eventually touching on mental health struggles dating back to his youth.

For Chris, that was a defining moment.

He realised that the trophies, records and spectacular achievements couldn't be the whole film. The documentary also needed to explore what existed underneath them—the darkness as well as the triumph.
Josias, who joined the production later, had a similar experience when he first interviewed Eddie in England.

What fascinated him was the contradiction between the public image and the man sitting in front of him.
Here was someone literally known as the World's Strongest Man, yet he was willing to talk openly about vulnerability.
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For Josias, that made Eddie an important voice in challenging an old stigma, particularly among men: the idea that strength means remaining silent about emotional pain.

So What Fills the Void Today?

The discussion then turned toward where Eddie is now.

Was he still constantly searching for another achievement to replace the World's Strongest Man title?
His answer was remarkably candid.

Yes.

He still wants accomplishments. He still wants to achieve something great. At the time of our conversation, he was preparing for another fight and pursuing another major goal.

But something else has changed.

Family has become increasingly important.

Eddie spoke about his children, another baby on the way, and how he has gradually begun slowing down enough to recognise what matters most.

Success, money and achievement remain part of his drive. But enjoying the results of all that work increasingly means being present for his family.

It was one of those answers that demonstrated exactly why we made this film.

The Beast hasn't disappeared.

Perhaps he's simply learning what deserves his strength.

​Eddie on Self-Belief

I wanted to ask Eddie something that goes beyond the film.

Over all the years we had followed his journey, I'd watched him encounter roadblock after roadblock and somehow continue moving forward.

We had experienced some of those roadblocks ourselves while making Taming the Beast. COVID alone nearly brought the production to its knees.

So I asked him what he would tell someone who reaches that point where continuing seems impossible.

His answer was self-belief.

People told Eddie he couldn't become World's Strongest Man.
People told him he couldn't deadlift 500 kilograms.
Later, people told him he wouldn't succeed in fighting.

For Eddie, believing that something is possible has always been the first requirement for proving people wrong.

But he added an important qualification.
Confidence has to be earned.

When he steps into a fight believing he can win, that confidence comes from knowing he has trained properly, recovered properly, eaten properly and done everything within his control to prepare.
That distinction matters.
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Self-belief isn't simply telling yourself you're capable.
It's doing the work that gives you a reason to believe it.

Therapy, Meditation and Asking for Help

One of the most important moments of the evening came when Eddie was asked what he actively does today to manage his mental health.

He revealed that he had started seeing a therapist around two years earlier and described professional therapy as a major help.

Friends and family are important, but Eddie made the point that sometimes a trained professional can help someone work through experiences in a way that friends simply cannot.

He also spoke about meditation, mindfulness and the work he does to reinforce his own self-belief.

Coming from a man whose public identity was built around being physically stronger than almost anyone else on Earth, the message carried particular weight.

Seeking help isn't the opposite of strength.
Sometimes it is part of becoming stronger.

​Then We Handed the Microphone to the Audience

Eventually, we turned things over to the people in the theatre.

One audience member asked Eddie about something the documentary explores beautifully: what happens when you actually meet your heroes?

Eddie grew up admiring figures including Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone. Today, he has not only met many of those childhood heroes, but worked with them and developed personal relationships with them.

For Eddie, meeting his heroes hadn't diminished them.
Quite the opposite.

He spoke about how fortunate he felt to have met Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sylvester Stallone and Jason Statham, and how those experiences continue to motivate him.

Despite everything Eddie has already accomplished, he clearly doesn't believe his story is finished.
There are still movies he wants to make.
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Still fights.
Still accomplishments.
Still another level he wants to reach.

​Eddie and Thor Today

Another audience member asked the question many strongman fans probably wanted answered.

What is Eddie's relationship with Hafþór "Thor" Björnsson like today?
Eddie didn't avoid it.

He acknowledged Thor's accomplishments and described him as a great strongman and athlete, while also making clear that the two still don't see eye to eye.

What I found interesting was the acceptance in Eddie's answer.
Not every rivalry needs a Hollywood ending.
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Sometimes two people simply have their differences, acknowledge what happened, and continue with their lives.

​Where Does Eddie See Himself in 20 Years?

The final audience question brought the conversation full circle.

Where does Eddie Hall see himself twenty years from now?

His answer wasn't about another world record.

It wasn't about Hollywood.
And it wasn't about money.
It was about his children.

Eddie talked about wanting to be there for school, performances, graduations, weddings and all those ordinary moments that become extraordinary when you're a parent.

He also reflected on something sobering: ten years earlier, because of the physical toll his lifestyle was taking on his health, he genuinely wasn't certain he'd be around for those moments.

Today he sees things differently.

He's changed his body, changed his priorities and is thinking much more about longevity.
His ideal picture of the future is surprisingly simple: being retired, surrounded by five grown children, looking at the lives they've built and feeling proud.
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After everything audiences had just watched for more than two hours, it was perhaps the most appropriate answer imaginable.

​And Then Came the Jägermeister...

It was getting late in Basel.

Eddie had fight camp the next morning and was heading straight to bed.

We, on the other hand, had an after-party waiting downstairs.

So I closed our conversation by informing Eddie that there would be quite a few Jägermeister shots consumed that evening—and that the next time he came to Switzerland, he'd have to catch up with us.

Someone immediately improved the arrangement by suggesting Eddie should have to drink two for every one we consumed.

His reaction?
"Oh, God."

Don't worry, Eddie.
We're keeping count.

​Watch the Full Conversation

There was something special about ending the world premiere this way.

For more than two hours, the audience had watched Eddie Hall's life unfold on a cinema screen: the records, the triumphs, the depression, the rivalries, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sylvester Stallone, his family, and the long search for what comes next.

Then, while the credits were still rolling, Eddie appeared live in front of them.

No editing.
No second takes.
Just Eddie.

He was generous with his time, thoughtful with his answers and willing to continue talking openly about subjects that many people still find difficult to discuss.
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That willingness to engage is a large part of why Taming the Beast became the film it did.
The documentary may be finished.
The conversation it started isn't.

Watch the complete live Q&A with Eddie Hall from the Taming the Beast world premiere in Basel below.