Kirstie Alley, the protagonist of
Fat Actress premiering on Showtime on Monday, vehemently denies being ‘that fat’. A comedy,
Fat Actress traces the life of a 200-pound plus actress who is struggling to make it in an anorexia-friendly Hollywood.
Alley, whose performances in
Cheers and
Veronica’s Closet were well received, is not only the main lead but is also the inspiration behind the story of the new sitcom. A popular television and film star Alley consistently faced a decline in her acting career after she piled on the pounds, which some media reports speculate to be more than 300. Alley, however, rebutted the claims, asserting that 203 pounds is the heaviest she ever got.
Alley’s comeback vehicle after
Veronica’s Closet in 2000,
Fat Actress, directed by Brenda Hampton, also stars many Hollywood personalities who play themselves. One such personality is John Travolta, Alley’s co-star in
Look Who’s Talking.
Meanwhile, the new sitcom has already been making news and seems all set to delight audiences with the escapades of a struggling overweight actress as she aggressively defends her weight, citing examples of John Goodman, Jason Alexander, and James Gandolfini, in one episode, and agonizes over her more-than-large frame in the next.
Alley, however, says that the show is not just about an overweight actress, but more about the state of mind of fat women, who are vulnerable to being preyed upon. “It's more than just about being fat,” she says even as tabloids go to town covering every ‘tiny’ aspect of Alley’s weight. Ironically, the sitcom also shows the actress avoiding media reporters trying to click her in her new ‘big’ avatar.
There are more real life situations in the sitcom, Alley claims, adding, “I've had agents call me and go, ‘yeah, you're too fat’ or ‘they just saw you on the cover of The Star and they think you weigh 500 pounds’. So there's reality in it.”
One of the episodes pits the
Cheers star into the role of a spokesperson for weight loss center Jenny Craig. Incidentally, Alley herself professes to have lost 20 pounds through the Jenny Craig diet program. Even as the actress readies herself to get the maximum out of her current bloated self, she ultimately has plans to shed the pounds as the show progresses.
“I want to be a really skinny fat actress,” says the lady, who is now penning down her book called ‘How to Lose Your Ass and Regain Your Life’. Aiming for a weight that reads a petite 118 to 139 pounds, Alley is all set to regain her lost glory. But considering the positive vibes that
Fat Actress is getting, she may just make obesity fashionable.
