Rebel Wilson got a hefty check even though she was stereotyped as the ‘fat friend’.

Type-casting acts as quicksand in the world of Hollywood. One minute, an actor picks up a role for the sake of making their name. All of a sudden, they find themselves being sucked into it, not being able to escape the clutches of the identity that is being forced on them. Many actors have become prey to it and very few have managed to survive.

Wilson in a still from Pitch Prefect

Rebel Wilson has been a fixture in Hollywood for years, but she found herself confined to the ‘fat-funny friend’ stereotype, struggling to break free from it. In her newly published memoir, she opened up about the pressure she faced to maintain her weight and how it hindered her ability to pursue diverse roles.

Despite the detrimental impact on her mental well-being, this stringent approach to her weight seemed to pay off professionally, leading her to secure a lucrative eight-figure deal.

Rebel Wilson Gets the Deal of a Lifetime

Rebel Wilson recently released her memoir, Rebel Rising, where she talked about all of the trials and tribulations of her profession and personal life. She talked about her issues with her weight, as well as how using binge eating as a coping mechanism affected her life. In one section of the book, she talked about the Pitch Perfect series, and how she got her money’s worth on the third film
Rebel Wilson in a still from Pitch Perfect 3
Fat Amy’s character in the film series played a pivotal role in its success, earning her a devoted fan base. When Rebel Wilson first appeared in the franchise, she was relatively unknown in Hollywood, so receiving a lower salary was understandable. However, as the series progressed, her character’s popularity soared, almost becoming the focal point of the third film.

Recognizing her increased value to the franchise, Rebel Wilson approached Universal Studios and advocated for fair compensation, as she candidly disclosed to The New York Times.

The New York Times.

“Universal Studios are incredible, but did they make a ton of money from the ‘Pitch Perfect’ movies? Yes,” Wilson said. “So despite me absolutely loving all those folks at Universal, did I use that leverage to my advantage? Yes.”

While her initial offer stood at a respectable $9 million, Rebel Wilson decided to negotiate for a bit more. She didn’t do it out of greed but rather to make a statement about her career. She proposed to the studio an additional $1 million, seeking to attach greater significance to her compensation in the trajectory of her career.

“And in the 11th hour, I go, ‘You know, that’s a lovely offer of $9 million. But I need one more to make it 10.’ That’s a big milestone when you’re an actor. To receive an eight-figure offer, for a woman, is huge. Sometimes women don’t like to talk about that. Whereas I don’t think the guys have any issues saying they get $20 million a movie.”

Rebel Wilson as Stephanie in “Senior Year.”
Hitting the eight-figure salary mark is a significant achievement for any actor and Wilson understood this. She wanted to enjoy this opportunity and being only one number away from it seemed like a torment to her.

Rebel Wilson’s Success Came At the Price of Her Health

During her tenure in the Pitch Perfect series, Rebel Wilson found herself compelled to adhere to an unrealistic standard for her body. Reflecting on her experience on the Call Her Daddy podcast, the actress revealed an unusual condition stipulated in her contract when she first joined the film.

“You can’t lose — I think it’s not more than 10 pounds or gain more than 10 pounds. You have to kind of stay at the weight. It’s in your contract,” she said at the time.

She was not allowed to lose or gain any weight, as a way to make sure that one of the main personality traits of her character stayed intact. One would assume that her agency would stand by her in such a situation, however, she revealed to be the opposite in her memoir.
Rebel Wilson and Sacha Baron Cohen in The Brothers Grimsby

Wilson writes in her new memoir that her agency “liked me fat because they got hundreds of thousands of dollars in commission for each film where I played the fat funny girl” , via Vanity Fair.

It would seem that Wilson’s agency also wanted her to maintain her weight as a way to make sure she got success in the industry.