# Fat people in films... **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 9, 2006, 12:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fat-people-in-films/360051 "2006-06-09T12:55:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2006, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fat-people-in-films/360051/21 "2006-06-09T22:55:23Z")
> [@Push You Down](#): > > …(whereas I a mstruggling writer) … Apparently. A new keyboard might help. 😉 (I kid because I love!) ---
**Author:** ![MannyL](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba8739/32.png) [@MannyL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MannyL)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2006, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fat-people-in-films/360051/22 "2006-06-09T23:50:26Z")
I’m fat and would like to be in films anyone know of agencys that cater to fat people? ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2006, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fat-people-in-films/360051/23 "2006-06-10T00:25:48Z")
When I was an actor, I had the issue that I was neither ugly enough, nor good looking enough, to get casting calls for great parts - as well as being too short. One’s commercial worth is something of which most actors are very aware (regardless of talent), and are very cynical about. There’s even an agency in the UK called [Ugly](http://www.ugly.org/index2.html), with thousands of people on their books, voluntarily. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2006, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fat-people-in-films/360051/24 "2006-06-10T00:33:09Z")
> [@ZipperJJ](#): > > I saw some _Little Britain_ documentaries, and in their case it seems like the actors are having a good time. In comedy, usually the fat jokes are so absurd - and in this show’s case, the main actor (Matt Lucas) is also a fat dude who makes fun of himself equally or more. No doubt. They wouldn’t be in it unless they’re getting something out of it. Nevertheless, the thought still crossed my mind. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2006, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fat-people-in-films/360051/25 "2006-06-10T00:34:14Z")
> [@ZipperJJ](#): > > You can either roll with it… Heh. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2006, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fat-people-in-films/360051/26 "2006-06-10T01:01:50Z")
_Don’t want to be a fat man I’ve not the patience to ignore all that Hate to admit to myself Half of my problems came from being fat Won’t waste my time feeling sorry for him 'Cause I’ve seen the other side to being thin Roll us both down a mountain and I’m Sure the fat man would win_ ---
**Author:** ![Excalibre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/898d66/32.png) [@Excalibre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Excalibre)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2006, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fat-people-in-films/360051/27 "2006-06-10T02:18:28Z")
> [@blinkingblinking](#): > > I could be wrong about this , so correct me if I am. Apparently in New Zealand and Australia the casting agents are not allowed to discriminate based on age,race,sex etc. So if they want a Chinese fat woman they can only advertise “We need an actor to play a role in a TV commercial”. They may get hundreds os applicants before finding the Chinese fat woman. That strikes me as quite unlikely; in the States, you’re not allowed to discriminate on such a basis unless it’s necessary for the job you’re hiring for; it’s obviously necessary to have the right general physical characteristics to act in a movie. I just don’t buy that the laws there are so unreasonably written. ---
**Author:** ![Malienation](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4af34b/32.png) [@Malienation](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malienation)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2006, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fat-people-in-films/360051/28 "2006-06-10T02:57:30Z")
> [@CookingWithGas](#): > > Here is a [great article](http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/01/20/AR2006012002057_pf.html) about the actress who played the title role in a play called “Fat Pig.” This will give you a lot of insight. If you found that question worth asking, this article is worth reading. Although I haven’t seen the play, I do know that the woman’s role is a _starring_ role, not a tiny one. AFAIK, although cruelty flows freely (this is a Neil LaBute play, after all), many of the skinny supporting actors/actresses are portrayed as terrible people. Also, this play is not a comedy (the cruelty is not meant to be laughed at). ---
**Author:** ![cerberus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/71e660/32.png) [@cerberus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cerberus)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2006, 5:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fat-people-in-films/360051/29 "2006-06-10T05:56:12Z")
In the states, you aren’t discriminating by selective casting. If the part is of a hot, young, eurasion woman, who is not pregnant, then an overweight, male, eastern european octogenarian isn’t going to be cast. There are complaints in general about the aesthetic standards for films, but the medium is _visual_, and so in many cases the media form requires attractive people. This is analagous to requiring singers to present acceptable vocal ability. ---
**Author:** ![Cunctator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/43a26b/32.png) [@Cunctator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cunctator)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2006, 7:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fat-people-in-films/360051/30 "2006-06-10T07:03:10Z")
> [@blinkingblinking](#): > > I could be wrong about this , so correct me if I am. Apparently in New Zealand and Australia the casting agents are not allowed to discriminate based on age,race,sex etc. So if they want a Chinese fat woman they can only advertise “We need an actor to play a role in a TV commercial”. They may get hundreds os applicants before finding the Chinese fat woman. I’ve seen ads in the SMH seeking people with specific physical and racial characteristics for films/TV. ---
**Author:** ![gabriela](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/db5fbb/32.png) [@gabriela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gabriela)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2006, 9:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fat-people-in-films/360051/31 "2006-06-10T09:47:22Z")
> [@jjimm](#): > > When I was an actor, I had the issue that I was neither ugly enough, nor good looking enough, to get casting calls for great parts - as well as being too short. One’s commercial worth is something of which most actors are very aware (regardless of talent), and are very cynical about. There’s even an agency in the UK called [Ugly](http://www.ugly.org/index2.html), with thousands of people on their books, voluntarily. You were an actor?? The Dope never ceases to surprise. Start another thread and tell us more - I’ve got a weird fascination with your travails. I went and looked at the Ugly site. The weirdest thing was that on every set of photos I examined, there was at least one face that was young, attractive, and hot. Some of the hot male faces were nonwhite - did that mean they had more of a chance getting cast Ugly than Good looking? Because they definitely were good looking. Many of the girls were pretty. Weird. ---
**Author:** ![Love\_Rhombus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/love_rhombus/32/10694_2.png) [@Love\_Rhombus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Love_Rhombus)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2006, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fat-people-in-films/360051/32 "2006-06-10T17:25:31Z")
I like the “specials” page, with sections for “Thugs” and whatnot. Yeah, most of these ladies are not ugly at all, unless your standards are insanely high (as they are for most TV and movie actresses). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fat-people-in-films/360051.md?page=1)