LOS ANGELES — Rebel Wilson says her 80-pound weight loss has changed how the film industry sees her—and the types of roles she is now being offered.
Speaking with SiriusXM host Ben Harlum, the Rebel Rising author, 45, shared how her transformation has influenced her career. “From that point, I started getting offered more serious roles,” she said, referring to the years following her significant weight loss. She highlighted her upcoming role as Lady Capulet in Juliet & Romeo and her appearance in the British indie film The Almond and the Seahorse.
“I think I kind of untypecast myself by losing weight,” Wilson said. “I loved being the bigger, funny girl. I loved playing Fat Amy in the Pitch Perfect movies. That character is still a part of me. But I think once I lost weight, people began to see me differently.”
Wilson explained that her original goal as an actress was to take on dramatic roles. “I wanted to be like Dame Judi Dench and be really serious,” she said. But her comedic talents quickly set her on a different path. “People liked to laugh at me, and then Nicole Kidman gave me a scholarship to come to America and focus on comedy. So I did.”
After moving to Hollywood, Wilson said she was quickly labeled as a comedy actress. “I was just the full comedy girl,” she recalled. “But now it feels like I’m going back to my roots and doing some serious acting again.”
In March 2024, Wilson spoke to The Sunday Times about her 2020 “year of health,” a personal initiative to improve her physical and mental well-being. She revealed that few people supported her decision to lose weight. “Basically, no one apart from my mom wanted me to lose weight,” she said. “People thought I’d lose my niche—playing the fat, funny character—and they wanted me to stick with that.”
Wilson also disclosed that she briefly used Ozempic, a drug approved for type 2 diabetes, to help maintain her weight loss. “Someone like me could have a bottomless appetite for sweets, so I think those drugs can be good,” she said. She added that she no longer takes the medication.
In an interview with PEOPLE that same month, Wilson opened up about her struggles with emotional eating. She described it as an “emotional war” and acknowledged the internal conflict she faced.
“To many people, I’m seen as a beacon of body positivity,” she said. “I’ve met people who are considered medically obese by their weight, but I think they are absolutely beautiful. Beauty exists at every shape and size.”
She addressed the criticism she has received from some for losing weight. “People ask, ‘How can you be body-positive and still want to change?’ But I wasn’t hating myself—I was only hating the shameful behaviors,” she said.
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