Land of the Free, Home of the Morbidly Obese

This past October, I started going to Weight Watchers; a friend bought me an initial 10-week membership (I joke that she was tired of hearing me whine about my appearance, but I really think she was just concerned for me), and I took things from there.

As of my last weigh-in, I've lost over 63 lbs (To be precise, I've gone from 268.4 lbs to 204.8 lbs). And by the time I've gotten to my goal weight - and maybe a few pounds past it, for good measure - I'll have lost at least 75 lbs.

This relates to acting, and in particular, to my being a "character man", because a reason I wanted to lose weight in the first place was because I didn't want to just be cast in "fat schlub" roles.

Now, being the worrier I am, I'm afraid that because I'm not a "fat schlub" anymore, I won't get cast at all.

Part of the problem is an unfortunate coincidence - I've chosen to lose this large amount of weight the same year things have been all topsy-turvy in the business. So it's easy to turn not getting auditions/bookings because of the wacky goings-on between SAG and the AMPTP into not getting auditions/bookings because no one wants to cast me as a skinny guy (For the record, I'm 6'2" - So I wouldn't say I'm "skinny" just yet...but I'm getting there).

But while it's true there will be roles I'm no longer "right" for because of my reduced tonnage, it's also true there will be roles for "the new me" as well (And I'd theorize that since those "new me" roles will "match up" better with the way I see myself inside - as a guy who isn't a "fat schlub" - I'll be better prepared to audition for, and book, those roles).

And ultimately, even if there are more roles out there for "Fat Character Man" than "Skinny Character Man" - because we're in America, after all, "Land Of The Free, And The Home Of The Morbidly Obese" - I can't, for my own health and happiness, make a decision to be a big fat man.

When I get my big break, and see myself on the big screen, that's not the guy I want to see.