Entertainment

Rebel Wilson Gained Weight To Get Famous

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Brandon Katz Contributor
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Rebel Wilson, best known for her role as Fat Amy in the “Pitch Perfect” movies, revealed that her strategy for gaining fame was directly tied to her weight. The 36-year-old actress admitted that she purposely packed on the pounds in order to further her comedy career.

Wilson talked with The Telegraph about casting an actress bigger than herself in a play she wrote and how the audience seemed to respond even better to her.

“And I was like: ‘Oh. That girl’s getting a lot of laughs, a lot easier than me. What is it?’ Because I don’t think there’s much difference in talent,” Wilson said. “I remember distinctly thinking: ‘I think it’s because she’s fatter.’ And then, I don’t know if it was mega-conscious, but I thought: ‘How can I get more laughs? Maybe if I was a bit fatter…’ And then suddenly I was fatter, and doing comedy.”

“There’s something about me that people like laughing at,” she added.

Wilson said that a hormonal imbalance leads to rapid weight gain for her. At times, she’s thought about slimming down, despite her commitment to the comedic side of her career.

“Oh yeah! I’ll take six months off, and just do a total transformation. But then, so many people go: ‘Don’t you do it!” she said. But I think: ‘Why not?'”

That’s not to say that Wilson is embarrassed by her size. If fact, she’s proud of her body image and hopes other women take note.

“I saw my size as being an advantage, whereas so many women see it as a disadvantage,” she said.

Wilson can next be seen in “Absolutely Fabulous: The Movie” later this month and “Pitch Perfect 3” in 2017.