James Corden spoke about the realities of being a “chubby” person in the entertainment business during an interview on actor David Tennant’s podcast released on Monday.
The late-night talk show host spoke about going for roles when he was growing up and how he was always typecast because of the way he looked ― not because of his talent. Corden said it extended to all parts of Hollywood.
“If you only watch television ― or films ― if an alien came back and they had to take a reading on planet Earth by just watching films or TV, they would imagine that if you are chubby or fat or big, you never really fall in love, you never have sex,” he said.
“Certainly no one really ever finds you attractive,” Corden added solemnly. “You will be good friends with people who are attractive and you’ll often be a great sense of comfort to them and perhaps you’ll chip in with a joke every now and again.”
He continued, “As you get older, you’ll probably be a judge in something or you’ll be dropping off a television to a handsome person in a sitcom.”
The 40-year-old said that “it felt like if the world of entertainment was a big banquet table, that people are like, ‘No, no there isn’t a seat for you here.’”
He decided, “If that’s not going to happen, then I’m going to just try to make something happen for myself.’”
Many have recently praised the Hulu show “Shrill” for its honest depictions of “fat-girl sex on TV.” HuffPost’s own Emily McCombs declared that the show is “rewriting that narrative” that Corden so aptly described.
“Fat people have sex. Fat people are desirable. For that matter, so are older people and disabled people and a whole range of others whose sex lives are rarely a part of mainstream discourse,” McCombs said. “Seeing this reflected in our pop culture shouldn’t be an anomaly.”