Chris Sullivan's character on This Is Us, Toby, looks a little heavier than the actor himself. Earlier this year, we found out that was because Sullivan wears a fat suit when he shoots the show. We here at Refinery29 had some mixed feelings about this — mainly, we were upset that the people behind the scenes felt it was necessary for Kate's love interest to be a certain size. Sullivan's fat suit reinforced the idea that like must date like, which is absolutely not true.
But Chrissy Metz, who plays Kate in the series, is all for the fat suit. When asked a fan questions regarding the suit in an interview on Watch What Happens Live, the actress defended the showrunner's decision, arguing that Sullivan was meant to play Toby — no matter his size.
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Cohen read: "Sophie C. wants to know your honest opinions about your co-star Chris Sullivan's fat suit for the show — 'I think it's ridiculous,' this person says."
"You know, I appreciate your opinion," Metz responded. "And I get it, the authenticity is kind of ruined by that, but Chris has been heavier, and I think he does understand the plight of being overweight."
She added, "Also, he was the best man for the job, and people wear prosthetics all the time. This just happened to be weight as opposed to, like, a nose or a chin."
Of course, it's difficult to argue with that. As the smooth-talking Toby, Sullivan is a delightful onscreen presence. Were he swapped out for a different actor, the show would not be the same. In an ideal world, though, Sullivan would play Toby as himself, no fat suit required.
Watch the full clip, below.
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