This Is Us, which stars Chris Sullivan as Toby, is full of surprises.
In Season 4, Toby is revealed to have lost weight after secretly working out.
But that wasn't the first time he transformed for his character on the show.
Here's how Chris Sullivan became Toby.
Toby may have lost weight in Season 4, but actor Chris Sullivan did not.
"Holy crap.
Like I knew that you lost weight, but I guess I just haven't seen you fully undressed."
But it wasn't a tricky camera angle or CGI that made Sullivan look thinner.
Instead, he shed a prosthetic costume, a.k.a. a "fat suit."
It turns out that for most of the show, Sullivan has worn prosthetics to make Toby appear heavier.
Susan Kelechi Watson, who plays Beth on the show, spilled the tea to Us Weekly about the
suit toward the end of the series' first season.
This is a stark contrast to the actress behind Toby's onscreen wife, Chrissy Metz, who told
TVLine in late 2016 that she was contractually obligated to lose weight as part of the quote
"trajectory of the character as she comes to find herself."
"I can't fall for a fat person right now."
"I guess I'll lose the weight then."
Metz later clarified on Ellen that she wasn't forced to lose weight, but that the weight
loss is indeed part of the story.
Unlike Sullivan, any dramatic weight loss Metz may need to undergo on This Is Us will
have to be done without the aid of prosthetics.
After Watson admitted that Sullivan does wear prosthetics to play Toby, fans were not pleased.
One user tweeted:
"The fact that [Toby] wears a fat suit is sooooooo disappointing."
And another wrote:
"I just learned Toby wears a fat suit so there goes all the trust I had in anything."
Some people even questioned why he was even cast for the role if he didn't fit the character
description.
One fan mused on Twitter,
"Like they couldn't find an actual overweight white male actor?"
And another person posted,
"Honestly pissed that the actor who plays Toby on This Is Us wears a fat suit, how about
some actual representation for plus sized men?"
When asked about the "fat suit" controversy in 2017, Sullivan wasn't initially all that
sympathetic to fans, telling Andy Cohen,
"I think one, that the show is just too good, they had to find something wrong with it."
Admitting that he understands the frustration with being fooled by a little TV magic, he
said he also feels that outrage culture had something to do with the reaction.
"I feel like we're currently living in a culture where outrage is a bit of a hobby for some
people, and, if they're not outraged about something, they're totally bored."
In a later interview with HuffPost, Sullivan recognized that people are allowed to experience
varying reactions, but reminded fans:
"We know Toby was married before and, because of the divorce, gained a bunch of weight.
So there was a time when he was skinnier."
He says the costume allows him to play his character at different stages of life, and
weight.
So how does Chrissy Metz feel about Sullivan wearing prosthetics to play a heavier character?
She told Andy Cohen,
"We tested a lot of gentlemen who were bigger, and I get it, like people think the authenticity
is kind of ruined by that, but Chris has been heavier and I think he does understand the
plight of being overweight."
But, even if he had never been overweight, it's possible Sullivan still could've been
the best fit for the role.
Metz added,
"He was the best man for the job."
"Yeah."
"People wear prosthetics all the time.
This just happens to be weight as opposed to a nose or the chin."
She also revealed that she wore a prosthetic suit for her role in American Horror Story:
Freak Show, adding that it's just part of the game in Hollywood.
"What do they call you?"
"Barbara."
If you're a fan of the show, you know that one-dimensional characters simply do not exist
on This Is Us.
Toby's weight may be part of his story, but it's certainly not the full picture.
In the Season 2 finale, audiences learned that the usually happy-go-lucky Toby also
struggles with depression.
"Hey babe, I just spoke to the doctor.
He wants you to come in tomorrow to talk about adjusting your meds."
Sullivan told THR of the plot,
"I was really excited, actually, because the idea that any person or character is one thing
is just not true.
People have their upsides and downsides, their dark and bright moments."
When asked if he needed to change how he prepared to play his character, Sullivan revealed,
"No, I kind of always knew what Toby was going through.
I've certainly gone through my fair share of anxiety and depression.
When you're in the good moments, you're just experiencing the good moments.
Until the writers let me know there's going to be something different going on, I don't
really have to ship anything onto a bigger scale for him.
It's all part of the same process."
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