Discuss: Where Have All The Thin Actors Gone?

Posted by Maggie Van Ostrand (maggie@filmschoolrejects.com) on April 19, 2009

crowe-play

Even the New York Times has noticed how there are more fat guys in the movies than fat guys at the movies. And they name them.

Making the Times’ list of actors whose many bulges are above the belt when there used to be just one bulge below it, are Russell Crowe (State of Play now playing), John Travolta (The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3, due out in June), Denzel Washington (Pelham again), Hugh Grant (Did You Hear About the Morgans? Due out in December), Leonardo DiCaprio (Shutter Island, due in October).

These actors can’t claim they put on thirty pounds for the role, as Robert DeNiro did for Raging Bull, these guys are just fat.

Crowe told the Today Show that he was trying to lose weight for his new film, Robin Hood, but that it was taking longer than he thought. Seth Rogen, on the other hand, seems to be successfully losing weight preparing for his title role in The Green Hornet.

If they ever remake The Maltese Falcon, maybe newly thin Jack Black can play Bogey’s part, and Russell Crowe can play Sidney Greenstreet’s.

What do you think? What’s the deal with the thickening of Hollywood’s herd?


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  • Fat actors have been popular since Orson Welles. Fat directors on the other hand...
  • It's called the middle age spread. Men are allowed to let themselves go, however women are held to a different standard in Hollyweird. SOSO.
  • Orson Welles was also a fat director. But look at the careers of Hitchcock, late Kubrick, Peter Jackson, Francis Ford Coppola, Guillermo Del Toro, etc. People love fat filmmakers.
  • Kangaroo Be Stoned
    I have to disagree with Leonardo DiCaprio being "fat". Does he look fat in the picture below?

    http://www.awardsdaily.com/wp-content/uploads/200...
  • depends if you mean Hollywood's definition of fat or the rational, non-pithy definition that normal folk hold to.
  • Kangaroo Be Stoned
    Of course I'm not talking about Hollywood's definition of "fat". Merriam-Webster says that "fat" means "notable for having an unusual amount of fat". Leo does not fit that definition in the image I linked to. At most he's 10 lbs overweight.
  • Crowe, Hanks, Travolta, et al appear to have found all that weight Julia Roberts lost.
  • Liz
    It's called "acting". The actor tries to assume the demeanor of the character he is playing. This means he must often make decisions about his own appearance based on what his character needs and not on his own personal vanity or what "fashion" requires. You should read more about it.
    Also you appear to be unfamiliar with the fact that Crowe gained weight a decade ago to act in The Insider. He lost it afterwards for Gladiator. At least then he had the luxury of being by comparison unknown and so was not subjected to the absurdly childish taunts of bored and irresponsible bloggers trying desperately to be witty and get hits..
  • Fat actors are hot.
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