Julianne Hough is loving her latest role as the "First Lady of Fitness."
The 30-year-old actress stars as Betty Weider in Bigger, a film that chronicles the life of the pin-up model and her husband, Joe Weider, played by Supergirl star Tyler Hoechlin. The movie doesn't hit limited theaters until Oct. 12, but ET has your exclusive first look at the exciting trailer!
The sneak peek footage follows Joe and his brother, Ben (played by Aneurin Barnard), as they beat the odds of extreme poverty and launch a fitness empire, Weider Enterprises, later co-founding the International Federation of BodyBuilders with Betty. Additionally, Joe goes on to launch the Mr. Olympia, the Ms. Olympia and the Masters Olympia bodybuilding contests, and teams up with Betty to publish fitness books and magazines like Muscle & Fitness, Men's Fitness and Shape.
The film, directed by George Gallo, also stars up-and-coming Australian actor Calum Von Moger, who plays Joe's discovery, a young Arnold Schwarzenegger, who ultimately becomes "the face of bodybuilding."
Victoria Justice, Colton Haynes, Max Martini, Tom Arnold, Steve Guttenberg, DJ Qualls, Kevin Durand and Robert Forster round out the star-studded cast.
See the full trailer in the player above.
In anticipation of the film's release in theaters next month, ET caught up with Hough in Las Vegas on Friday, where she couldn't contain her excitement while talking about what it was like to be a part of this project.
"I'm excited," the former Dancing With the Stars judge gushed to ET's Lauren Zima. "We almost shot this movie a year ago, [and] everybody knows how I am an advocate for health and fitness, and just creating physically and emotionally the best versions of ourselves. That's what Ben and Joe Weider did, and of course, Betty Weider, who I play, was such an influential and impactful partnership in the whole inception of it. So, yeah, I am really, really excited and honored."
"I had such an incredible time shooting the film," she continued, marveling over the cast and crew. "We were in Alabama shooting and became such a tight-knit, little group ... I am all about the process, so the end result is great and how the outcome turns out is awesome, but for me, it's all about the moment and the progress and the process. I was really happy about that part."
Now, Hough is just excited for her family, friends and fans to finally get a chance to see the film, and hopes they will leave the theater inspired.
"I think the whole point of making movies and entertaining people is to give them something and to share a part of you or a story that they can either connect to, relate to or be inspired by," she explained. "The [Bigger] story is about perseverance and belief and vision, and I think today ... I'm such an advocate for, like, women CEOs and [for women] to be able to see this and be like, 'If you have a vision, keep going. If you have a belief, you know what you are capable of. Just believe in yourself and keep going.'"
"I know that's cliché to say, but I'm just now finding a new belief in myself 11 years after getting a little sidetracked for a minute," she added. "Finding that belief in yourself again, you keep having to find that again. Hopefully, this inspires people to do whatever it is in their vision to make it happen."
Last November, ET visited the set of Bigger, where Hough explained how she actually had to change her body for the role.
"I took back my cardio quite a bit and did more weight training," she said. "And I'd have an extra cookie or two, just to add to the hips."
"I don't have as small of a waist as Betty," she said of the fitness guru's enviable 18-inch waist. "But, you know, we wanted it to feel as real as possible."
Hear more from that exclusive chat in the video below.
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