# Actors Playing Fat



## pattycake (Jan 26, 2006)

I'm sure this issue has probably been done to death on these boards but I feel it's time to 'go there' once again...
After seeing pictures of a plumped up Jared Leto playing Mark Chapman and hearing about Vin Diesel gaining 30lbs for a part and Oliver Platt in his fat suit in 'Casanova', I've started to get angry. 
Surely if a character is overweight a large actor could play the part. But that would mean large actors in LEAD roles and _we can't have that_! So a pretty boy/girl gains weight and is seen as some kind of method acting genius and steals a part a large actor could play. Imagine if they got a white actor to 'black up' to play Muhammed Ali... 
Why have Renee Zellwegger as Bridget Jones? If you can't have an English woman in the role at least have someone who is naturally that size (which isn't even fat, just average, below even.)
I saw this thing about actors wearing fat suits with regards to the film 'Just Friends'...

www.mtv.com/movies/news/articles/1514229/11212005/story.jhtml


If we must have these insipid rom-coms, let's have a real bhm/ffa one. Not one where he loses loads of weight and becomes stereotypically 'gorgeous' (he's not Brad Pitt in a fat suit!). Nor a male lead who's just 15lbs overweight. And it should deal with the realistic issues of a bhm/ffa situation; she likes him but he may have issues of trust or shyness or lack of confidence or she may be conflicted about her ffa feelings etc. But she gets him in the end and he's played by a _real_ BHM actor who can get his name in lights for a change. I know it wouldn't 'test well' with mainstream audiences, but looking at the number of us ladies on this board, I know there'd be some kind of market for it.
Here endeth the rant! 

View attachment JaredLetoAsMarkChapman.JPG


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## Lynne Murray (Jan 26, 2006)

You have some very good points, Pattycake. (Enough to tempt me into a maiden post, so 'scuse me if I commit some weird error.) Putting aside the "actors in fat suits" situation, about which a lot has been written and probably still can be written. I'm always interested when an actual fat actor is used. I immediately thought of one of my favorites, The Tao of Steve. The actor Donal Logue, won Best Actor at Sundance for this role. I "essayed" about it when it first came came out
http://www.maadwomen.com/lynnemurray/essays/tao-of-steve.html
and I'll point out again here that there's a slap in the face to fat women early in the movie where the fat Don Juan hero admits he would never date a fat girl. But it was well worth watching for a mature look at how one charismatic fat guy coped by becoming a super cool stud--and then had to learn to get past that role to real emotional maturity. It's based on a real fat roommate of the indie film director--except last I heard the real "tao of steve" guy is still out there following The Way of Don Juan. It's also pretty funny--and not with fat jokes.
Lynne


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## ConnieLynn (Jan 26, 2006)

Lynne Murray said:


> (Enough to tempt me into a maiden post, so 'scuse me if I commit some weird error.)



Welcome to the posting world Lynne. We live for weird errors, so start making them dang it!


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## Jackoblangada (Jan 26, 2006)

An interesting thread. I have some experiance with this as i was a working actor for a long time before getting out of the business. 
It was always frustrating to see an average size actor 'plumping' up to play a fatter guy. But keep in mind what Hollywood considers fat. For them an average height man at say 250-260 is really fat I am sure you can count on your hands the number of decent parts that went to very fat men.. and even then it was to one of two actors. Once those two had established themselves it was easier for them to get the parts. I must have run across those two a dozen times while i was in Hollywood. While I had to audition they were called in by the casting people. 
But even so there just wasn't that many parts for fat..and expecially fat guys over 300 or more. After a while you just can't keep afloat. Even those two actors have had to slim down. One is the brother on 'Earl" and the other got gastric by pass and lost like three hundred pounds. He ain't working much now. So I ended up leaving the business. Hollywood is a business built on what came before it. So if the suits can get a svelt ator to put on 30 pounds to and get 'real fat' they can still sell the distribution rights and build ad campaigns on the stars name. Plus they get to add how gash darn brave it was fo them to gain weight and shouldn;t they be concisered for an oscar? So why hire the unkown fat actor or the two obese actors in town who everyone has seen?
I am sure I am rambling fool at this point but them is my two cents. Feel free to ask any follow ups if I have been unclear


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## pattycake (Jan 26, 2006)

Glad to inspire you to post!



Lynne Murray said:


> I'm always interested when an actual fat actor is used. I immediately thought of one of my favorites, The Tao of Steve. The actor Donal Logue, won Best Actor at Sundance for this role.



I forgot about 'The Tao of Steve'. Your review raised some excellent points, such as Dex can't date fat girls because supposedly, 'seducing fat girls isn't a challenge for anyone', even a fat guy! I understand that for the sake of the plot, the character has to feel that way, but it still smarts! 



Lynne Murray said:


> I'll point out again here that there's a slap in the face to fat women early in the movie where the fat Don Juan hero admits he would never date a fat girl.



Like 'Shallow Hal' where Hal (heavyset Jack Black) will only date 'hot' girls (eg, _thin_ girls). But maybe if Hal was played by a slim actor, his shallowness would have seemed just too plain nasty. Maybe we're supposed to laugh at Hal because the audience don't believe he could actually get the girls he wanted anyway! (He has no 'Tao of Steve' to use!)


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## missaf (Jan 26, 2006)

Scott's around somewhere too, tho he does theater acting. He's made some interesting posts about his size and his job.


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## pattycake (Jan 26, 2006)

Jackoblangada said:


> An interesting thread. I have some experiance with this as i was a working actor for a long time before getting out of the business.
> It was always frustrating to see an average size actor 'plumping' up to play a fatter guy. But keep in mind what Hollywood considers fat. For them an average height man at say 250-260 is really fat I am sure you can count on your hands the number of decent parts that went to very fat men.. and even then it was to one of two actors. Once those two had established themselves it was easier for them to get the parts. I must have run across those two a dozen times while i was in Hollywood. While I had to audition they were called in by the casting people.
> But even so there just wasn't that many parts for fat..and expecially fat guys over 300 or more. After a while you just can't keep afloat. Even those two actors have had to slim down. One is the brother on 'Earl" and the other got gastric by pass and lost like three hundred pounds. He ain't working much now. So I ended up leaving the business. Hollywood is a business built on what came before it. So if the suits can get a svelt ator to put on 30 pounds to and get 'real fat' they can still sell the distribution rights and build ad campaigns on the stars name. Plus they get to add how gash darn brave it was fo them to gain weight and shouldn;t they be concisered for an oscar? So why hire the unkown fat actor or the two obese actors in town who everyone has seen?
> I am sure I am rambling fool at this point but them is my two cents. Feel free to ask any follow ups if I have been unclear




Thanks, J. Interesting to hear from someone who's experienced it first-hand. Don't give 'em an oscar just for gaining 30 lbs - see if they're willing to put on 300 and say to hell with the fat suit!  
Even when a very fat actor slims down, it's sad to see he can still only be comic relief, never the lead.
Ralphie May was always told (at 400+ lbs) that he was too fat to play the fat guy! 'Fat' is definitely no more than 200 or so lbs in Hollywood.
And I guess it's impossible for a fat guy to be auditioned for a role that isn't specified as 'fat'.
We have 3, maybe 4 'fat guy' actors in Britain; Richard Griffiths, Mark Benton, Ewan McKintosh...


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## Jackoblangada (Jan 26, 2006)

You also have the great Robbie Coltrane one of my very favorite actors. The series he did called "Cracker" was fantastic. I fat guy, who was smart, capable, sexual and falwed. An amazing part. When they tried to re do the series here in the states, i desperatly tried to get an audition for it but was way too young then. The gay they got was pudgy at best and just not good enough to make the character palattable enough to be watched. 
Cracker was a right bastard of a man but his charm and intellect were hard to deny. 
Sorry..ranting agian there lol
Anyway it was difficutl to get work. I was in the mid 300's then and just huge in comparison to most of the people around me. I would have killed for a comic relief part lol


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## bigwideland (Jan 27, 2006)

This may be on of the greatest crime/mystery shows ever for a FFA.
Certainly up there with Morse and Barnaby.
It's about Henry Crabbe, detective inspector, who, after
being shot on duty, open his own restaurant. But he
frequently gets called back to duty, and is being (for
unknown reasons) denied retirement. 
The plot may sound unoriginal, but it's great fun!
Simply fantastic. The best bits come from Henrys cooking.
Richard Griffith is superb in the role as Crabbe. 

British character actor Richard Griffiths came from radio and the classical stage where he built up an early reputation as a Shakespearean clown, with larger-than-life portrayals of Henry VIII, Falstaff in "The Merry Wives of Windsor" and Bottom in "A Midsummer Night's Dream" with the Royal Shakespeare Company just a few of his standout credits. The son of deaf mute parents, he learned sign language at an early age and, interestingly enough, developed a talent for dialects which allowed him to show off in a number of ethnic portrayals. In films from 1975 both here and abroad, his better roles have been in both contemporary and period pieces, such as Gorky Park (1983), Withnail and I (1987), King Ralph (1991), Guarding Tess (1994), Sleepy Hollow (1999), and recently the *'Harry Potter' series as Uncle Vernon Dursley*. Typically cast as comic relief in serious fare, he is well known in England for a number of comedy series including "Pie in the Sky" (1993).

Was considered by producers for the Role of The Doctor in Doctor Who, had the series' original run continued past 1989. 

View attachment crab.jpg


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## missaf (Jan 27, 2006)

Ooo I forgot about him BWL, thanks for the reminder


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## bigwideland (Jan 27, 2006)

missaf said:


> Ooo I forgot about him BWL, thanks for the reminder



I enjoyed the poetic way he was able to catch the crook with the slowest of walks that one could see for a person in a hurry, it is hats of to the writer to allow a man of the huge belly size of Crab to waddle and catch the bad man.


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## missaf (Jan 27, 2006)

He and Goodman together in King Ralph made for nice eye candy


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## pattycake (Jan 27, 2006)

Jackoblangada said:


> You also have the great Robbie Coltrane one of my very favorite actors. The series he did called "Cracker" was fantastic. I fat guy, who was smart, capable, sexual and falwed. An amazing part. When they tried to re do the series here in the states, i desperatly tried to get an audition for it but was way too young then. The gay they got was pudgy at best and just not good enough to make the character palattable enough to be watched.
> Cracker was a right bastard of a man but his charm and intellect were hard to deny.
> Sorry..ranting agian there lol
> Anyway it was difficutl to get work. I was in the mid 300's then and just huge in comparison to most of the people around me. I would have killed for a comic relief part lol



How could I forget Robbie?! :doh: I used to have such a crush on him when I was in my teens! Which is why I'm still a sucker for a Scots accent! I think he started out as a stand-up comedian, though I may be wrong. Now fat _comedians _are a different story. They're two a penny! It seems the only way the mainstream audience will accept 200+ lbs on stage/screen is if we can laugh with/at it. We all love a fat _funny_ guy. Jorge Garcia, Ewan McKintosh, Ralphie May etc all started in stand-up.


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## RVGleason (Jan 27, 2006)

I'm in agreement with this thread about the unfairness relegated towards naturally fat actors who get passed on good parts which are given to Hollywood pretty boy actors who plump up or wear fat suits for the part. As an actor myself, the best I can hope for are character parts, which I'm actually ok with, character roles are sometimes much more interesting than the lead.

Regarding the Jared Leto movie on John Lennon's assassin, as a huge Beatles/Lennon fan, I'm disgusted that the filmmakers are actually filming scenes for the movie in front of the Dakota building where the murder took place. That for me is the height of bad taste, and due to the movie's subject matter, plus the unwritten rule among Beatle/Lennon fans of never mentioning the killer's name or acknowledging him to deny him the fame that was his motive in killing Lennon, I will not see the movie when it opens. I know some folks may be curious about the movie, but out of principal, I hope other posters will avoid seeing the movie too. 

RV :eat1:


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## pattycake (Jan 28, 2006)

RVGleason said:


> Regarding the Jared Leto movie on John Lennon's assassin, as a huge Beatles/Lennon fan, I'm disgusted that the filmmakers are actually filming scenes for the movie in front of the Dakota building where the murder took place. That for me is the height of bad taste, and due to the movie's subject matter, plus the unwritten rule among Beatle/Lennon fans of never mentioning the killer's name or acknowledging him to deny him the fame that was his motive in killing Lennon, I will not see the movie when it opens. I know some folks may be curious about the movie, but out of principal, I hope other posters will avoid seeing the movie too.



You're right. Why make a movie about someone so odious, who killed purely for the notoriety? With regards to that particular role I've reconsidered and have to do a u-turn and say I'm glad a large actor didn't take it. Who'd want to be permanently equated with _him_? Jared Leto is clearly a moron to be in the film, but I guess he (or his 'people') figures at least he can shed the weight and go back to looking like Jared Leto. A large actor wouldn't have the opportunity to change their appearance 'back'. No-one wants the hatred that we all feel for such a repugnant character directed at them for the rest of their life. But that film SHOULD NOT BE MADE and everyone I know agrees that everyone should boycott it.


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## Fortune Cookie (Jan 29, 2006)

I think it's awful that they're making a movie about that. It makes me wonder if Hollywood is trying to show the current generation what we lost (and believe me, most of us already know  ) or if they're trying to milk the emotions of those who are old enough to remember. 

It makes me sad, but more than that, it makes me sick. I'm with RV and Pattycake, and will be actively avoiding this film, and encouraging others to do the same. 

Fortune Cookie


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## FreneticFangs (Feb 1, 2006)

Jackoblangada said:


> An interesting thread. I have some experiance with this as i was a working actor for a long time before getting out of the business.
> It was always frustrating to see an average size actor 'plumping' up to play a fatter guy. But keep in mind what Hollywood considers fat. For them an average height man at say 250-260 is really fat I am sure you can count on your hands the number of decent parts that went to very fat men.. and even then it was to one of two actors. Once those two had established themselves it was easier for them to get the parts. I must have run across those two a dozen times while i was in Hollywood. While I had to audition they were called in by the casting people.
> But even so there just wasn't that many parts for fat..and expecially fat guys over 300 or more. After a while you just can't keep afloat. Even those two actors have had to slim down. One is the brother on 'Earl" and the other got gastric by pass and lost like three hundred pounds. He ain't working much now. So I ended up leaving the business. Hollywood is a business built on what came before it. So if the suits can get a svelt ator to put on 30 pounds to and get 'real fat' they can still sell the distribution rights and build ad campaigns on the stars name. Plus they get to add how gash darn brave it was fo them to gain weight and shouldn;t they be concisered for an oscar? So why hire the unkown fat actor or the two obese actors in town who everyone has seen?
> I am sure I am rambling fool at this point but them is my two cents. Feel free to ask any follow ups if I have been unclear


 I would see your movies!
You look so young too. I'm impressed. I usually don't like men over 30 and you're hot!


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## pattycake (Feb 4, 2006)

Jackoblangada said:


> I am sure you can count on your hands the number of decent parts that went to very fat men.. and even then it was to one of two actors. Once those two had established themselves it was easier for them to get the parts. I must have run across those two a dozen times while i was in Hollywood. While I had to audition they were called in by the casting people.
> But even so there just wasn't that many parts for fat..and expecially fat guys over 300 or more. After a while you just can't keep afloat. Even those two actors have had to slim down. One is the brother on 'Earl" and the other got gastric by pass and lost like three hundred pounds. He ain't working much now.


I didn't recognise Ethan Suplee on 'Earl'! He's lost soooo much weight. Googling him, I realised I've seen him so many times; American History X, Mallrats, even Boy Meets World! He's lost about 200 lbs. I wonder if he'd have got the part of Randy if he'd stayed at 449 lbs? He's still cute though. But it's a shame the really big boys are getting scarcer on the screen.  I agree with FreneticFangs; you should get back in the game, J.


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## Jackoblangada (Feb 4, 2006)

Thank you both so much for the kind words! Tell you what, maybe we can all find some rich folks here who would like to see an indie romantic comedy with a BHM/FFA couple. Something nice and inexpensive to shoot. Then I will be happy to come out of retirement. I am sure there is a writer or two here we could collaborate with to write it. I Dimensions productions if you will


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## RVGleason (Feb 4, 2006)

Jackoblangada said:


> Thank you both so much for the kind words! Tell you what, maybe we can all find some rich folks here who would like to see an indie romantic comedy with a BHM/FFA couple. Something nice and inexpensive to shoot. Then I will be happy to come out of retirement. I am sure there is a writer or two here we could collaborate with to write it. I Dimensions productions if you will



I've actually toyed with the idea of writing a script based on my characters of Tiny & Edie. If I was going to cast anyone famous as Tiny, it would have been Ralphie May. I just wasn't crazy about his type of comedy. John Candy would have been my prefered choice as Tiny, and I like to think there's a bit of John Candy's lovable quality to Tiny. 

I still like the idea of a Tiny/Edie movie, and I would write the script to tone down the feeding aspects of my comics and make it a bit more of a romantic comedy. It might be worth collaborating on and pursuing. 

RV :eat1:


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## JerseyBigBoy (Feb 4, 2006)

John Candy was cool and funny. Mostly he was loutish--always funny, though-- but he had some good roles like in "Only the Lonely" where he's the romantic lead. John Goodman seems to be taken seriously as a dramatic/comic actor and he avoids being exploitated. Dennis Franz almost fits in this category, but as someone wrote, a BHM in Hollywood is usually well under 300. You have to go all the way back to William Conrad to find a large man who was not only cast as a hero, but an intellegent one at that.


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## Fortune Cookie (Feb 4, 2006)

I would *definitely* go to see a Tiny/Edie movie. They're so sweet together!


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## RVGleason (Feb 5, 2006)

Fortune Cookie said:


> I would *definitely* go to see a Tiny/Edie movie. They're so sweet together!



Thanks Fortune Cookie. I appreciate that very much. I actually have a story idea for a movie with Tiny & Edie in the back of my mind. I'll see if I can develop it. 

If you go to my RV Toon's Yahoo Group, you'll find in the Files section one of my long-form Tiny & Edie cartoons called 'Life's a Beach', which I think you'll enjoy. 

RV :eat1:


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## Qit el-Remel (Feb 18, 2006)

pattycake said:


> I didn't recognise Ethan Suplee on 'Earl'! He's lost soooo much weight. Googling him, I realised I've seen him so many times; American History X, Mallrats, even Boy Meets World! He's lost about 200 lbs. I wonder if he'd have got the part of Randy if he'd stayed at 449 lbs? He's still cute though. But it's a shame the really big boys are getting scarcer on the screen.  I agree with FreneticFangs; you should get back in the game, J.


He was in _Without a Paddle_, too. He played Abraham Benrubi's brother. Both of 'em were on the DVD commentary; the contrast between Suplee on the film and Suplee on the comemtary was already quite marked.

-Qit


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