Billy Gardell is breaking the mold — and a few chairs along the way. “I busted my kitchen chair this morning,” says the 40-year-old actor, who weighs 350 pounds. “I’m a big guy, man. It happens. You have to watch where you sit sometimes when you’re my size.”
For some, this might be an embarrassing admission. But the standup star laughs it off. After all, this isn’t the first time it’s happened.
As the co-star of the CBS series “Mike & Molly” (9:30 p.m. EST Mondays) — playing opposite Melissa McCarthy in a romantic comedy about an overweight couple — Gardell isn’t shy about his weight or his age, two taboo subjects in Hollywood. His girth is setting him free.
| ON TV |
| ‘Mike & Molly’ |
| » When: 9:30 p.m. Monday |
| » Channel: CBS |
| » Info: cbs.tv |
“On TV, when you’re heavy, you get typecast. You’re the guy who’s a little slower or you’re the lovable loser,” he says. “They can’t do anything great. … They are the best friend or the nerdy guy or the zookeeper. That’s why I think this part is great for me.”
The audience is agreeing. Coming from “Two and a Half Men” creator Chuck Lorre, “Mike & Molly” is the most-watched new comedy of the fall. Part of its appeal is born from its two plus-size stars not holding anything back.
But not everyone is laughing.
Marie Claire blogger Maura Kelly wrote in November: “I’d be grossed out if I had to watch two characters with rolls and rolls of fat kissing each other because I’d be grossed out if I had to watch them doing anything.
“To be brutally honest, even in real life, I find it aesthetically displeasing to watch a very, very fat person simply walk across a room — just like I’d find it distressing if I saw a very drunk person stumbling across a bar or a heroin addict slumping in a chair.”
After causing a storm of reaction, she offered an apology.
Though her words were written before this interview, Gardell understands that not everyone is comfortable with overweight people.
“I’m not unaware this is unhealthy,” Gardell says of his size. “I didn’t set out to be this way.”
