James Corden says ‘chubby’ actors are excluded from romantic roles

‘The Late Late Show’ host made the comments on David Tennant’s podcast

James Corden (Getty)

James Corden has criticised the exclusion of “chubby” actors from major screen roles.

The former Gavin & Stacey actor and co-creator said that “fat” people “never really fall in love... never have sex” on television or film.

Speaking with David Tennant on the actor’s podcast, Corden – who now hosts The Late Late Show in the United States – said that overweight people are, at best, cast as the “good” and funny friend of someone who is “attractive”.

Corden explained how that, while working on the play The History Boys, he noticed how the other actors were all being offered large roles in films. One day Corden and two other actors were told about the “hottest script”.

“They were looking for two boys of 21, 22,” Corden said on David Tennant Does A Podcast With.

“And they both got sent the script [for the lead roles] and I got sent just two pages to play a newsagent at the start of this film.

“I really felt like people were going: ‘We think you’re quite good. It’s just because of what you look like.’

“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.

“Certainly no-one really ever finds you attractive.

“You will be good friends with people who are attractive and often will be a great sense of comfort to them and perhaps chip in with the odd joke every now and again.

“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.

“And that’s really how it can feel. It felt like if the world of entertainment was a big banquet table, people are like: ‘There isn’t a seat for you here.’

“I was like: ‘If that’s not going to happen then I’m going to try to make something happen for myself.’”

Corden previously spoke about his frustrations in 2016, telling Rolling Stone: “I could never understand when I watched romantic comedies ... the notion that for some reason unattractive or heavy people don’t fall in love. If they do, it’s in some odd, kooky, roundabout way – and it’s not. It’s exactly the same.”