Summary
Gwyneth Paltrow's body double from Shallow Hal, Ivy Snitzer, reveals how filming the movie nearly broke her.
Snitzer reveals that portraying a 300-pound woman left her with feelings of unattractiveness, isolation, and fear. She vocalizes her aspiration to bring joy to others rather than evoke sorrow and delves into her personal challenges with body perception and eating disorders.
Gwyneth Paltrow's body double for the film Shallow Hal, Ivy Snitzer, recently opened up about the intense toll the filming process had on her. The Farrelly brothers' romantic comedy, released in 2001, tells the story of Hal, played by Jack Black, who becomes hypnotized to only see a person's inner beauty and becomes infatuated with Rosemary, a 300-pound woman. While Paltrow wore a fat suit for certain scenes showcasing her face, Snitzer was enlisted for close-up shots of Rosemary's body. In an interview with The Guardian, Snitzer candidly shared her experience shooting Shallow Hal and how it pushed her to the brink. Here is an excerpt from her comments:
The struggles of being overweight were amplified, and nobody recognized my sense of humor. Being overweight is not the worst thing in the world. I became fearful, questioning if fame was what I truly desired and if pursuing acting was the right path for me. I didn't want to portray a character who was unattractive and desperate for affection, resorting to harming young boys. All I wanted was to bring joy through laughter, not sadness. The concept of body positivity was not as prevalent, so I focused on being positive about myself as an individual. I despised my body as society expected, resorting to eating mainly salads. I took pride in my eating disorders. Nonetheless, my personality has always been my defining feature, existing within this physical vessel. More details to follow...
Source: The Guardian