Puts “the edge of reason” in a whole new light, huh?
Renée Zellweger was recently spotted on the set of the new NBC crime series, “The Thing About Pam,” where she stars as real-life convicted killer, Pam Hupp.
After years of yo-yo dieting to portray her “Bridget Jones” character, Zellweger, 52, decided to wear a fat suit to portray Hupp, who is currently serving life for the 2016 murder of Louis Gumpenberger.
Photos show the slim actress donning the plump bodysuit while on set in New Orleans, where she wore jeans and a large winter jacket while sipping on a soda in many shots.
The suit was also later pictured being carried by a wardrobe assistant.
The Oscar-winning actress may also be wearing a prosthetic nose in an effort to look more like Hupp, who — while serving a life sentence — recently pleaded not guilty to the murder of her friend Elizabeth “Betsy” Faria, who was stabbed 55 times in her Missouri home in 2011, The Daily Mail reports.
Prosecutors allege the convict murdered Faria four days after persuading her to switch a $150,000 life insurance policy over to Hupp’s name, attempting to blame Faria’s husband for the killing.
“The Thing About Pam” will be co-produced by Big Picture Co., Zellweger’s own production company.
It’s possible the star’s choice to wear a fat suit for the project will ruffle some feathers, as Gwyneth Paltrow, Sarah Paulson and others have expressed regret in wearing them for roles after being called out for promoting fat-phobia.
“It’s very hard for me to talk about this without feeling like I’m making excuses. There’s a lot of controversy around actors and fat suits, and I think that controversy is a legitimate one,” Paulson, 46, told the Los Angeles Times of her decision to wear a fat suit while portraying late White House employee Linda Tripp in the FX series “Impeachment: American Crime Story.” “I think fatphobia is real. I think to pretend otherwise causes further harm.”
Zellweger’s resistance to gaining real-life weight for a role stems from having to pack on 30 pounds for the first installment of the “Bridget Jones” films and continuing to gain and lose weight for subsequent films in the franchise over the years. The “Judy” star claims her constant weight fluctuations often led to panic attacks.
Of course, there’s also the argument that the production should’ve simply chosen an actress with a body type closer to Hupp’s.
“Renee Zellweger unrecognizable in fat suit on set of Pam Hupp movie, Meanwhile, non skinny actresses get overlooked for non stereotypical roles,” tweeted one observer.
