Rebel Wilson has said she doesn’t believe she would have been cast in the British indie film The Almond and the Seahorse if she had not lost weight.
Over the last year, Wilson has been documenting her weight loss journey on Instagram.
In a new interview, she has was asked if different career opportunities have come her way in recent months.
Wilson replied: “Yeah. I found that with the British drama The Almond and the Seahorse – I’m not sure I would have been cast in that when I was a bigger girl because they kind of stereotype you a bit more when you’re bigger.”
She told The Hollywood Reporter: “But when I started as an actress I really wanted to be the next Dame Judi Dench and do really serious stuff. And so now I’m returning to that a bit, which is great, but still doing comedies that I love. But yeah, it has definitely diversified my stocks.”
The Almond and the Seahorse is an upcoming British independent drama film directed by Celyn Jones and Tom Stern and written by Jones and Kaite O’Reilly, based on O’Reilly’s 2008 stage play of the same name. The film also stars Trine Dyrholm, Meera Syal, and Charlotte Gainsbourg. It is Wilson’s first non-comedy film role.
The actor and comedian also discussed hosting the forthcoming Baftas. She said: “I have a cracking comedy called Senior Year coming out in May, which is the first I shot after my health transformation, and I think it is my best comedy yet.
“But the Baftas will be my first big public thing since losing a lot of weight. At the end of the day, your comedy does come from your mind and your personality, and that’s all still there.”
Last year, Wilson said her team gave her pushback when she informed them that she was starting a new fitness regime.
She said: “I got a lot of pushback from my own team actually, here in Hollywood, when I said, ‘OK, I’m gonna do this year of health,’ I feel like I’m really gonna physically transform and change my life.
“And they were like ‘Why? Why would you want to do that?’ Because I was earning millions of dollars being, you know, the funny fat girl, and being that person.”
The 2022 Baftas ceremony is being held on 13 March. Find the full list of nominees here.
