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List of overweight actors in United States cinema
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In the golden age of Hollywood, there were many character actors on the silver screen who made a good living playing a "fat man". A "big" man seemed heroic, but a "fat" man added a note of tragedy. Movie reviews of the golden age of Hollywood referred to the characters and actors as "rotund" or "roly-poly" without any note of criticism or implication they should lose weight. Today, the more politically correct terms "overweight" or "obese" are used, and the overweight actors have trouble finding work, but there are still occasional casting calls for "fat" actors. Actresses are held to an even more severe standard of thinness, even as the overall population in the United States is reaching new levels of obesity. Today many films depict characters that are viewed as fat in at least some scenes, then thin in others, employing a fat suit. A “fat actor” was not just a leading man who had put on a few pounds. Instead he sought roles calling for a “fat man,” and it was as much a stereotype as “romantic lead” or “hard-boiled private eye.” He might play a funny guy like Lou Costello, “a gangster type,” like 400 pound Victor Buono, or pure menace, like 357 pound *Fatty Arbuckle *William Bendix *Jack Black *Marlon Brando *Sebastian Cabot *Drew Carey *William Conrad *Lou Costello *Dom DeLuise *Andy Devine *Wayne Knight *Charles Laughton *Robert Morley *Michael Tucker *Orson Welles<ref name=Sante/> *Monty Woolley<ref name=Sante/> See Also
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