Fatwatch: A-List Men
The New York Times did an article a few days ago about A-list male stars gaining weight. Amid jokes about extra chins and such, the article lists Denzel Washington, Russell Crowe, John Travolta, and Leonardo DiCaprio as examples of male stars who have fattened up.
Hugh Grant, 48, who played the skinny cad to a puffy Renée Zellweger in “Bridget Jones’s Diary†just eight years ago, may find the tables turned in “Did You Hear About the Morgans?,†a comedy to be released by Columbia in December. His co-star, Sarah Jessica Parker, is the sleek one this time around, while Mr. Grant’s famous dimples pop out where they used to pop in.
Once it gets beyond all the fat jokes, the article does make a few interesting points. One, it contrasts the male stars of today with the skinny stars of yesteryear.
Photos of midcentury stars — Humphrey Bogart, James Stewart, Clark Gable and others — show them to have remained rather gaunt at an age when many of the current crop are anything but.
And of course, this raises the question about female stars of today. Kathleen Turner is listed in the article as one of the only female stars of that generation that got fatter and is still allowed to act. As the article puts it, “actresses who expand do not often get roles to showcase that growth.” No; if anything, Hollywood has become less tolerant of heavier women, as it has seemingly become more tolerant of heavier men.
But a new willingness to cast heavier men “may have happened organically,†Ms. Fasano said, as Hollywood over the last few years has been plagued by what has widely been seen as a shortage of reliably appealing stars.
Somehow, I can’t see Hollywood shifting towards accepting “heavier females” in an organic or any other way–and I can’t see A-list women like Angelina or Gwyneth ever allowing themselves to gain weight, even as they age. Can you?
Posted by mo pie
Filed under: Angelina Jolie, Celebrities, Feminism, Gossip, Gwyneth Paltrow, Media, Movies, Renee Zelwegger, Sarah Jessica Parker
Email us
I love how quickly we forget all those “Gaunt” stars that smoked like chimenys and died young. Yes a much better example for the kids. Smoke your way to death but at least you’ll be thin in your coffin.
And as a rebuttal, what about Spenser Tracey? He wasn’t a skinny twig in his later career?
Spencer Tracy! Excellent example. He was always kind of puffy. (I actually don’t care much for Tracy. Blasphemy, I know. But Cary Grant was my favorite.)
Van Johnson didn’t stay thin, either.
I can’t see A-list women like Angelina or Gwyneth ever allowing themselves to gain weight, even as they age.
Haha, yeah Gwyneth just started a $900-a-month gym and has launched a “lifestyle” website where she promotes fasting and detoxes as means of weight control.
And suddenly there is a “new willingness to cast heavier men”? Uhh… what do they call shows like “What About Jim” and “King of Queens” then? If anything, its a begrudging willingness. These male stars hold star power, regardless of what they weigh. The difference is, the studios won’t make the same weight demands of male stars as they do female stars.
I keep thinking Liz Taylor and Marlon Brando will be relevant here somehow. They both got heavy and they both had health problems, and they did both act in things, right? Liz Taylor was in a TV movie and Brando was in the Island of Dr. Moreau. I have no idea what to make of that, though.
Make sure you have some spare Sanity Watchers points – following the original article, MeMeMe Roth appears in comments, crafting her usual horrifically flashy demonstration of just how badly sustained caloric deprivation fosters brain malfunction.
I think of the cast of “White Christmas”. The stars that stayed thin — Vera Ellen, Danny Kaye, and Bing Crosby — died young. While Rosemary Clooney got fat and lived a relatively long life.
A lot of female stars have clauses in their contracts that say they can’t gain more than a certain amount of weight (Usually 5 pounds. “Desperate [to stay skinny] Housewives” is one of them.)
And, no I cannot imagine any actress nowadays willing to put on any weight. Judging by the freaky things you see in L.A., actresses would rather have a rib removed and have toxic substances injected into their faces than get “fat” or “old.”
Poor Vera-Ellen. I don’t know how true this is, but what my mom (similar age as Vera-Ellen) has always told me is that she was made miserable because some costume designer told her she was fat. She became anorexic and developed what are described as “peculiar eating habits,” which is how she maintained that incredibly slim shape.
I don’t think that society is getting more tolerant of heavy actors. I think that the studios have less power, so they aren’t working as hard to develop new actors as they did back in the 40s and 50s. Tom Hanks and Denzel Washington still “open” movies. Plus they have their own production companies, which often means they’re casting themselves. I bet if they had to cast someone else they’d go for a younger, skinnier guy….
I agree that Hollywood has a shortage of appealing stars, but it’s their own fault. The old system of finding and developing talent is gone, they’re banking on reality show contestants and people famous for nothing to be the next “it people” in their movies, and they’re allowing weight bias to stop them from finding potentially talented people who don’t fit their beauty ideal.
Also, it seems that Hollywood is tolerant of certain “heavy” stars because they’re not the typical leading men or women. Tom Hanks, Denzel Washington, Kathy Bates, Vince Vaughn, Kevin Spacey, etc. can do a lot more genres and aren’t limited to certain types of movies. (Of course, we can also read this as that they are people we’d probably never want to see in sex scenes or naked, so what they look like isn’t as important, even though Kevin Spacey looked damn fine in American Beauty).
But if stars like Jake Gyllenhaal, Jude Law, Angelina Jolie, Brad Pitt, and Halle Berry ever got fat, we wouldn’t hear the end of it, because they’re the “sexier” stars who have no qualms about showing skin and being portrayed as sex objects.
“I can’t see A-list women like Angelina or Gwyneth ever allowing themselves to gain weight, even as they age. Can you?”
No, and that’s why Angelina and Gwyneth grow less and less attractive with each passing year. They’re too thin for their ages and body types and it looks unnatural and creepy. Of course, this is just my opinion.
Do movie stars still have the “potato clause” in their contracts? (That clause that states that they go on suspension w/out pay if they put on more than five pounds)
IIRC, Elizabeth Taylor got a LOT more grief over her weight gain(s) than Marlon Brando did. Though, I heard fat jokes about both. Taylor lost a bunch of weight, wrote a diet book and then admitted that the fat jokes just “killed her”.
Men will always be tolerated more for their looks than women, because the world is ruled by men; all across the board.
Look at TV journalism; notice how much the women look more and more like models; only the top 1% of the best will keep their jobs past a certain age–they damn well better parlay that career into other ventures (like Barbara Walters) or they’re gone after 40. The men are kept on as anchors; ugly, fat, old, and practically disintergrating in front of their audiences and they keep their jobs forever (Andy Rooney, Maury Shafer, Dan Rather, etc.).
Hollyweird is no different and it’s worse now than ever. I’ve never seen such ridiculous shallowness and narcissism. And what’s really ironic, these people are no happier than anyone else even with their “perfect” lives. If anything, most of them are in deep denial about their lives and have more serious problems than everyday people.
I’ll bet the ‘character actors’ are happier and more content and have more jobs, even if they aren’t the ‘sex symbol’ matinee idols. Without that limitation, they don’t have to worry as much about, aging and weight; because let’s face, there’s always someone prettier, handsomer and younger to come along.
Vincent D’Onofrio has gained weight over the past few years and he’s still compleletly 100% yummy. And as a bonus, his character on Law & Order: CI no longer wears a tie.
Look at Meryl Streep. She is by no means fat, don’t get me wrong, but she is definitely heavier than she was in the ’80s and ’90s. And, to my mind, that extra weight is what makes her look FANTASTIC. She looks healthy and strong, not brittle like many thinner actresses of her generation. I would be surprised to see Meryl doing commercials for bone density medicine, for example.
Dearest Bree –
You never wanted to see Tom, Vince, Denzel, or Kevin naked?
Oh, well, that’s fine then. More for me. :D
Ernest Borgnine is in his 90s, fat, has been fat for a long time (including when he was near his prime), and looks about 20 years younger than his real age…
…but then we all know how he did that.
O.C. , please. Danny Kaye and Bing Crosby did NOT die young. Holey socks.
Dearest Bree –
You never wanted to see Tom, Vince, Denzel, or Kevin naked?
Oh, well, that’s fine then. More for me. :D
LOL! Actually, more naked Kevin would be a good thing. More naked men anywhere would be a good thing. Wait, did I just say that?