Yes, it's obvious how much work some actors go through to maintain their
physiques for the sake of bringing their characters to life. But did you know that
this discipline is often a legally-binding stipulation written into their contracts?
Probably the most well-known example of a weight clause in an actor's contract comes
from Rebel Wilson, who played the iconic role of "Fat Amy" in "Pitch Perfect" and
its sequels. In the film, Wilson's character calls herself "Fat Amy"
because she wants to discourage other people from doing it behind her back.
"And my real name is Fat Patricia."
Most of Amy's character arc relates to her weight
and doesn't stray far from the "fat funny friend" archetype.
"An overweight girl dangling from the ceiling. Who hasn't had that dream?"
In February 2023, she opened up about her contract on an episode
of the podcast "Call Her Daddy." She told the hosts that she waited until
the "Pitch Perfect" franchise was over to start her weight loss journey, saying,
"I couldn't lose a massive amount of weight because it was in the
contracts for that movie. You can't lose [...] more than 10
pounds or gain more than 10 pounds. You have to kind of stay at the weight."
One of actress Renée Zellweger's most iconic roles is Bridget Jones in the film trilogy:
"Bridget Jones's Diary", "Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason", and "Bridget Jones's Baby".
The character of Bridget is constantly lamenting over her weight. The first thing she writes in her
journal in the film is that her current weight is 136 pounds, and that she wants to lose 20 pounds.
But the opposite was true for Zellweger, who had to gain 30 pounds and stay at that weight for the
duration of the original film, then regain and maintain it for the sequels, too. After all,
Bridget Jones wasn't meant to look like a sleek Hollywood actor,
but rather a relatable woman whose insecurity about her weight wouldn't
cause the audience to wonder if she has body dysmorphic disorder.
"Hi. You like me just the way I am."
Though the "Bridget Jones" films won't win any awards for spreading body positivity,
Zellweger didn't complain about gaining weight, except on nights when she had
no appetite and couldn't bear to eat another Snickers bar. Between the Bridget Jones films,
Zellweger lost weight and took on other roles. However, she was contractually
obligated to get back to the "Bridget Jones look" by the time the sequels rolled around.
Many people know Tom Holland from his role as Spider-Man in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Some might also recognize him from dramas like "The Impossible" or "The Devil All the
Time". No matter what you recognize Holland for, though, you likely picture him as young, charming,
and cut. One film where Holland's physique was key to the story is "In the Heart of the Sea".
The film is a historical drama that follows the wreck of an American whaling ship in the 1820s,
which happened to inspire a little book called "Moby Dick" by Herman Melville.
"It's just a whale."
Holland plays Thomas Nickerson, the ship's cabin boy and lone survivor.
Because the crew is struggling to survive on very few rations,
the actors in the film needed to look thinner than usual. Holland was no
exception. But he told The Independent that he wasn't legally allowed to lose
any weight he didn't start out with because he was under 18 during filming. So he said,
"I had to gain as much weight as I could prior to
the weight loss and then lose it all again. Towards the end of the film,
I did lose a little more than I should have but it's my art and I love it."
Some people know actor Tom Welling from his role as Charlie Baker in the "Cheaper by the
Dozen" films, while others may remember him from the 10-season superhero series,
"Smallville" — which follows a young Superman as he comes to
terms with his extraterrestrial origins and astonishing powers.
"I took a shortcut."
"Through what? A black hole?"
Welling played Clark Kent and his superhero alter ego from 2001 to 2011.
Everyone knows Superman as a chiseled guy in a skin-tight suit, so it makes sense that there
would be a weight clause in Welling's contract. Throughout the 10-season run,
Welling had to maintain his superhero physique without gaining any weight. On top of that,
he wasn't allowed to play basketball — his favorite sport — because producers
didn't want him getting injured. Impressively, Welling was able to keep his weight consistent
for 10 full years while shooting the series. That's no small feat,
especially because the show began filming when he was 23 and didn't finish until he was 33.
Another franchise that requires weight clauses is Marvel, which gives MCU actors little leeway when
it comes to changing their appearance. Granted, we don't have any Marvel contracts available to
review, but intense diet and exercise routines are famously a big part of MCU actors' lifestyles.
"So obviously learning the martial arts is an important part of my training. But the
other part of being a Marvel superhero is, well, looking like a superhero."
Characters like Captain America or Thor are known for their superhero bodies and are
likely highly discouraged from altering their looks in any way before or during filming.
Marvel actors are a great example of working extremely hard to stay in shape over a long
period of time. For example, to keep his body in a condition worthy of Steve Rogers,
Chris Evans participated in hand-to-hand combat, swimming,
explosive strength, sprinting, and mirror muscle exercises.
If you watch the group films, the first "Avengers" movie came out in 2012 and the
last film in the Infinity Saga premiered in 2019. Some of the cast were required
to maintain the same weight and physique for seven years, which is a major accomplishment.
Bollywood fans will surely recognize Guddi Maruti, who's known for films like "Zindagi
Tumse" and "Dil Tera Diwana". She's also appeared in plenty of television shows,
including the 1990s series, "Sorry Meri Lorry". Early in her career, Maruti was pushed into the
"fat funny friend" category. Maruti never viewed herself as the heroine, and learned to laugh at
herself when she was in the public eye because she knew people would chastise her for her weight.
Contractually, Maruti wasn't allowed to lose weight while she was working.
It was particularly important when she was shooting "Sorry Meri Lorry". Nonetheless,
she lost 10 kilos, or about 22 pounds. The executives were not pleased with the weight
loss and made her gain it back. It wasn't until after she stopped working that she
was finally able to lose the weight without violating a contract clause.
The psychological thriller "Black Swan" follows a ballerina named Nina, played by Natalie Portman,
who dedicates her life to dancing. Her company decides to do "Swan Lake", and Nina gets the
lead. However, her competition is a new ballerina named Lily, played by Mila Kunis. Lily is the yin
to Nina's yang. While Nina perfectly dances the White Swan, Lily's Black Swan is much more raw
and seductive. Their rivalry becomes a sort of frenemy scenario, and psychological chaos ensues.
Both Portman and Kunis put themselves through the ringer for "Black Swan". They had to train hard to
dance the roles and become wildly flexible. But one of the hardest aspects of preparing for the
film came from losing weight to authentically portray a ballerina. Kunis shed 20 pounds,
getting down to her all-time low of 95 pounds, while Portman shed the same amount. She said
she thought she was going to die because of the intense toll the weight loss and training took on
her body. On camera, the experience definitely paid off, as "Black Swan" is arguably one of
director Darren Aronofsky's best films. Both Portman and Kunis delivered critically-acclaimed
performances, and Portman took home the 2011 Best Actress Oscar. But the real-life toll on
the actresses' bodies may have been too intense for any human to safely and healthily endure.
"I will never dance again. I promise you, I will never put on that pointe shoe ever again."
Another actor known for her weight is Chrissy Metz, who played Kate in the hit television
drama "This Is Us". Kate is a complex character. She teaches, adopts children, goes through in
vitro fertilization, and is involved in several serious relationships. However,
one of the most discussed aspects of Kate's character is her relationship with her body.
Kate struggles with her weight throughout the six-season series, and even meets her serious
boyfriend and eventual husband, Toby, in a support group for eating disorders.
Part of Kate and Toby's journey in the show comes from their efforts to lose weight.
"The other night I stuffed my face full of powdered donuts,
and then I cried myself to sleep."
Kate struggles to take better care of herself and her body, so the show's creators thought it
best to include a weight clause in Metz's contract. In the agreement, Metz was not
only barred from gaining weight, but actually ordered to lose weight along with her character,
so that the trajectories of her fictional persona and real life appearance would coincide.
"You have to wonder, like, okay, are people trying to help me? Do
they really want to help me or do they want to benefit from the situation? Maybe it's both."
Metz claimed she was happy with the contract, though, and even called it a win-win. However, she
did make it clear that, whether or not she lost weight or remained the same, she would be doing
so for her health, and not to satisfy a societal idea of what people are supposed to weigh.
Who could forget the actors in their iconic red bathing suits slow motion running across
the beach? These scenes are half of what made the "Baywatch" television series so memorable;
the other half were the actors like David Hasselhoff, Pamela Anderson,
and more, who inhabited the characters for years. The cast of this beachy soap opera,
which ran from 1989 to 2001, worked out to maintain their bathing suit bodies
from season to season. In fact, many of the actors were afraid of being fired because
of the weight change clause that barred them from gaining or losing more than five pounds.
The cast discussed the clause with E! News, confirming that five pounds was the most your
weight could fluctuate before it became a problem. Actresses Traci Bingham, who
played Jordan Tate from 1996 to 1998, and Nicole Eggert, who played Summer Quinn from 1992 to 1994,
explained that if the actors did anything drastic to their appearance — most importantly to their
weight — they would be in trouble with the executives of the show. Of course,
because each episode's "plot" pretty much revolves around what the actors look like,
it makes sense that there were weight clauses in their contracts. Frankly, it's surprising there
was even room for a five-pound fluctuation, given that the show premiered in the '80s.