It's quite common for an actor or actress to change his or her appearance for a movie role. Sometimes this has to do with changing hair color or adding facial hair, or even getting into shape. Occasionally, though, an actor or actress will even have to gain or lose weight for a role. But if you think that if a director asks an actor to lose weight, it's an automatic guarantee it will happen, think again. Recently, Kirsten Dunst revealed that Sofia Coppola asked her to lose weight for her latest role in The Beguiled. Her Answer? Think again. Here's what the longtime actress had to say:
It's so much harder when you're 35 and hate working out. I'm eating fried chicken and McDonald's before work. So I'm like, 'We have no options! I'm sorry I can't lose weight for this role.'
The Beguiled is a southern story that filmed in rural Louisiana. If you know anything about food down South, it's easy to see why eating what she wanted was her priority, and not working to be a skinny Minnie, which she says is a lot harder now that she's out of her teens and twenties. Considering the movie shot in full in 26 days, she probably had plenty of eatin' to do while she was on the set, at least when there was fried chicken around.
There's nothing wrong with getting cut for a movie or even looking thin and pristine, which may have been what Sofia Coppola was hoping for, considering The Beguiled is set during the Civil War when battles were more plentiful than food production. However, Kirsten Dunst told Variety that saying no to going to the effort of losing weight was not a deal breaker for the director, who was "understanding" of her reasoning. It's not the only instance when Coppola had the actress' back, either, as she also helped her through an awkward sex scene with her co-star Colin Farrell.
So many parts are lost if people don't look a particular way for a movie, so it's somewhat refreshing to hear an actress say she is comfortable with her body and wouldn't change it just for one gig. Still, it probably helps that Sofia Coppola and Kirsten Dunst go way back. The two have made several movies together, and Kirsten Dunst definitely had to stuff herself in a corset for one of them, 2005's Marie Antoinette. A bond like that is often unshakeable, and we're happy they are working together again on The Beguiled.
You can catch The Beguiled when it hits theaters on June 23, 2017. In the meantime, you can see what all is coming up during the warm months with our summer movies schedule.
