It's hard to believe that it's now been nearly ten years since the world was introduced to Stephen Amell's version of playboy vigilante Oliver Queen for Arrow, which would ultimately launch an entire superhero universe on The CW. Amell played the hooded hero of Star City for eight seasons and while it’s only been two years since the series ended, Amell is looking back at what it took for him to play a superhero.
Stephen Amell took to social media to post a throwback video of him training for his then-upcoming CW superhero series back in 2012. The training looks intense and involves him making big jumps, flips, and hanging on for dear life. In a Facebook post, Amell wrote "I can still do that" but then followed with "Probably." The Heels star also posted the video on TikTok, and it's hard to look away:
@stephenamell ♬ original sound - Stephen Amell
It’s pretty fun to see Stephen Amell looking back to the months before Arrow premiered in fall 2012 and changed his life, and he never shied away from showing off his real-life Green Arrow skills, like when he competed on American Ninja Warrior. That said, he's also not afraid to poke a little fun at his post-superhero self compared to Oliver Queen.
A month ago, Amell took a vacation that was not without some injuries. He shared the story on social media, noting that Oliver Queen survived five years after being shipwrecked on an island, transformed into a hero, saved people and sacrificed himself, while Amell lost his watch while cliff diving and mistakenly grabbed a sea urchin. Not everyone can be like their character, and it looks like as the years go on, Amell is gradually becoming less and less like Oliver.
Even though Stephen Amell may not be as athletically trained as Oliver Queen anymore, his newest TV character is still very physical. Because he plays a pro wrestler on Starz’s Heels, Amell still needs to work out. He posted a shirtless photo that proved that he was back in his prime Arrow body, even mentioning that he was “one juice cleanse” away from blowing the first season poster away.
It's clear that Arrow will always be part of Stephen Amell’s life, whether that’d be him wishing that he could still the stunts he was able to do, or getting a permanent reminder to pay tribute to the vigilante. Although it doesn’t seem like he could be returning to the role of Oliver Queen any time soon, at least he seems to look back fondly on his days as the Green Arrow. And Arrow does live on with the spinoffs, and even certain characters who debuted on the Emerald Archer's show back in the day.
Oliver Queen is definitely gone but Stephen Amell is keeping his memory alive, and I would officially love to see him try to recreate that video from 2012 now in 2022, just to prove whether or not he can. If you want to relive Amell's days as the Green Arrow, you can always check out all eight seasons of Arrow with a Netflix subscription.
