John C Reilly was reluctant to accept Stan & Ollie role as he didnt want to gain a hundred pounds
Hollywood actor John C Reilly thought twice about starring in the upcoming movie, Stan & Ollie, as he was reluctant to gain extra weight.
The 53-year-old actor plays Oliver Hardy in the big screen adaptation of Laurel and Hardys story, and had to gain several pounds to better resemble the iconic character.
However, the thought of having to drastically change his appearance somewhat put John off accepting the role initially.
Speaking to Collider about his challenging role, John said: I was reluctant because I dont really do impressions. Thats not really my thing.
And then, the second thing was that I dont weigh nearly as much as Oliver, and I wasnt willing to gain a hundred pounds.
Stan & Ollie is a biographical tale of the lives of Laurel and Hardy, two of Hollywoods most iconic duos, so its no surprise John felt pressure to do their story justice.
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He added of his fears: But the main trepidation I had was that I didnt want us to make a film about these guys that would end up being a liability to them. To me, theyre in a perfect place already.
John continued: Their films are brilliant, I love them, and they changed my life.
I didnt want to add anything to the conversation that would distract from that, so I had to be convinced, early on, from Jon Baird, the director, that we were gonna really do it well, and that we were gonna tell a story that you cant find out on Wikipedia.
John is currently starring in another comedy about a famous dynamic duo – Holmes & Watson – alongside Will Ferrell, however, its not exactly set the box office on fire.
More: John C Reilly
Etan Cohens humourous take on Sherlock Holmles and Doctor Watsons classic tale has been heavily panned by critics and cinema-goers have even walked out of screenings. In fact, its been so poorly received that even Netflix allegedly rejected the opportunity to stream on their platform.
Hopefully, John will have better luck with Stan & Ollie when it hits UK cinemas on 11 January.
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