Toby On ‘This Is Us’ Wears Fat Suit, Chris Sullivan Fans Shocked
News recently emerged that Toby on This Is Us wears a fat suit for the show, shocking Chris Sullivan fans across social media.
PureWow shared last Wednesday what Chris Sullivan looks like in real life, adding that the image is drastically different from the character, Toby, that Sullivan plays on This Is Us.
The short article goes on to say, “no idea” how fans of This Is Us missed this, after watching Chris Sullivan play an “obese” image of Toby Damon on This Is Us for 14 episodes of Season 1.
Page Six also shared last Tuesday that Chris Sullivan sports a fat suit, complete with prosthetic jowls, for This Is Us filming, making the NBC comedy-drama series “even more interesting.”
According to the Page Six article, Susan Kelechi Watson, who co-stars with Chris Sullivan in This Is Us as Beth Pearson, actually revealed to This Is Us fans that Toby, wears a fat suit on set.
Us Weekly first shared the news that Chris Sullivan wears a fat suit, after fans of This Is Us noticed a “slimmed-down Sullivan” walking the red carpet during this year’s awards season, including at the 74th Golden Globe Awards, broadcast live on January 8, where This Is Us was nominated for Best Television Series – Drama.
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10155004589464592&set=a.417491169591.198070.640004591&type=3
Nearly a month after the news first broke, social media users are still shocked to learn that Toby wears a fat suit. Just as recently as this past weekend, the photo of Chris Sullivan “in real life,” standing alongside another This Is Us co-star, Chrissy Metz, continues to circulate on Facebook, usually captioned with “shocked” and “OMG.”
“Wait….Toby wears a fat suit on This Is Us??”
“What the???? Wooooow!!”
Chris Sullivan’s character, Toby, on This Is Us actually met “on-off girlfriend Kate,” played by Chrissy Metz, at a weight loss support group on the pilot episode of This Is Us, which aired on NBC back in September, 2016, with just over 10 million viewers watching.
Now, well into the first season of This Is Us, with only a few more episodes left, Toby and Kate are now engaged, after Toby suffered a cardiac arrhythmia and collapsed during Season 1, Episode 10.
Did you know Toby is wearing a fat suit? @Refinery29 #fightfatphobia #losehatenotweight #nobs https://t.co/iVSrH8PXwI
— Lindsey Averill (@feministcupcake) January 27, 2017
While Kate is committed to losing weight when she meets Toby at counseling, Toby is described as being “very confident with his own obese image.”
Metz, 36, revealed in a previous interview with TV Line that it’s written in her This Is Us contract for her character, Kate, to lose weight, adding that she’s “obligated to lose weight” for the storyline, calling it a “win-win for me.”
According to Metz, Kate’s This Is Us weight loss journey mirrors her own real-life struggle with weight, adding that she “happily signed on the dotted line” to contractually lose weight on the show, which was renewed last month by NBC for two more seasons, as previously reported by Variety.
It is unknown whether or not Chris Sullivan’s character is also supposed to lose weight for Toby’s This Is Us storyline. If so, the weight loss won’t be difficult. The 36-year-old actor will simply have to shed his fat suit.
Surprise! Toby from 'This Is Us' wears a fat suit https://t.co/ROzdsfZ08j via @pagesix
— Walter Smith Randolph (@WalterReports) February 9, 2017
This Is Us fans actually wondered if Sullivan’s new slimmed-down physique on the red carpet was part of an upcoming storyline for Toby, according to Y98, but now some fans are disgruntled and “mind-blown” to learn that Sullivan wears a fat suit for the show.
“I can’t believe how different Toby looks with a fat suit. Never saw this coming. Why can’t they just use an actor who is a bit heavy.”
Chris Sullivan’s recent fat suit revelation really did take This Is Us fans by surprise, as Sullivan isn’t exactly a well-known actor, having only regularly played ambulance driver, Tom Cleary, in two seasons of the Cinemax TV drama series, The Knick, which premiered nearly three years ago.
But Life & Style Weekly reports that Chris Sullivan isn’t the only actor who’s worn a fat suit for a role, adding that sometimes the “transformation is so subtle” that fans sometimes never even know. Life & Style’s 12-slide photo gallery cites Matthew Lewis as Neville Longbottom in the Harry Potter films, and Dennis Quaid as Lawrence in Smart People as examples, as well as making mention of Toby’s fat suit on This Is Us.
Refinery29 calls Toby’s fat suit news “disappointing,” adding that Chris Sullivan has talked about how relatable Toby and Kate’s weight loss struggles are to so many This Is Us fans, even though Sullivan isn’t actually experiencing weight “shame” in real life.
“Knowing Sullivan is wearing a fat suit feels disrespectful to the story This Is Us is trying to tell about one’s struggle with weight, but more importantly, it feels disrespectful to Metz.”
Watch the newest episode of This Is Us on Tuesday, February 14, on NBC at 9 p.m. ET. Season 1, Episode 15, called “Jack Pearson’s Son,” will see Kevin stress about the premiere of his play, Randall struggle under the pressure of work, and Rebecca and Jack’s Valentine’s Day not go as planned, as summarized by TV Guide.
[Featured Image by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images]