Rebel Wilson has said that she feels the need to "physically transform" so people can imagine her in serious acting roles.
Wilson became a household name after portraying "Fat Amy" in Pitch Perfect, however, as she entered her forties, she decided that it was time to focus on her health.
The Australian actor took to social media in January to reveal that 2020 would be her "Year of Health", and that she would be stepping up her exercise regimen and cutting down on "the sugar and junk food" as part of "some positive changes".
Wilson is believed to have lost 2st 8lbs (40lbs or 18kg), with an overall goal weight of 11st 8lb (75kg or 165lb), and a recent Instagram snap shows her in sportswear, captioned: "closer each day".
However, in a recent interview, she disclosed that the weight loss wasn't just for herself.
Speaking to The Express, Wilson stated she "literally feels as if she has to physically transform" so that people can see her as something other than a comedic actor.
"For some reason, even though we’re in a very imaginative industry, it’s very difficult for people to imagine me as a serious actress and I feel that I physically have to show you that I am different," she said. "I am somewhat transforming myself in order to help transform my career. I still love comedy and I will obviously still work in the comedy space, but I did train originally as a dramatic actress… which people forget."
This comes after Wilson alleged that she was paid "a lot of money" by Hollywood executives to stay at a larger size.
Speaking to The Sun, while promoting Amazon Prime’s LOL: Last One Laughing, Wilson revealed that her American acting agency was keen to keep her on, as there were very few actors working at the time that looked like her.
''It’s not like I want to lose weight and get to around a certain number. It’s more than that, it’s about dealing mentally with with why I was overeating and I had a job where I was paid a lot of money to be bigger, at times which kind of can mess with your head a bit.
"So now I’m just trying to work on the mental side and the physical job and doing a lot of personal training and, and on the nutrition side like it’s, it’s cool I should probably write a book at some point about it because people seem to be interested. There’s no real simple answer to it. I’ve been trying a lot of different things and to be healthy.''