If you’re looking for a truly inspirational story look no further – Chrissy Metz’s story is the one. This talented actress is a prime example of how you can go through a lot of struggle in your life, but as long as you keep at it and don’t give up – you will find the silver lining and the path to success. Metz has gone through a lot in her life, and she never thought that she could achieve her big dream, but the role on This Is Us made a huge change, her life has been turned around and she still can’t believe it, she’s living a dream. Since getting the role of Kate on This is Us Metz has been opening up about her own life struggles and how the character she plays on the show is very relatable to her.
Childhood Struggles
Chrissy has been opening up a lot about her weight loss struggles since the character she plays is going through the same thing. According to Metz, she’s always been chubby, as long as she can remember. She says she always felt like she was bigger than other kids and that she felt inadequate when her friends could eat anything and look the same while she, even as a kid, knew that if she ate certain foods she would immediately put on weight. Her mother took her to Weight Watchers when she was only 11. She was the youngest person in the room and it was uncomfortable, to say the least, but just like her character on the show, she understands now that her mom was just trying to help her.
Acting Ambitions
Chrissy Metz didn’t really consider acting until she was in her 20s. She was working as a teacher and it was her sister who wanted to attend an audition and it was up to Metz to take her there. Along the way she ran into an old teacher of hers that convinced her that she should try it too. And while she would love to become an actress she didn’t really think she would get it. But she gave it a go and unexpectedly received a callback. That’s when she decided to try and live her dream and move to LA.
Trip To The Hospital
Metz has been gaining and losing weight her whole life, she would go on diets and try to be more active, but then something would happen and she would gain it all back and then some more. At one point before moving to LA to pursue an acting career she lost 50 pounds. But since getting a role was proving hard and she began to eat her feelings and gained back all of the weight she lost back and then some more. On her 30th birthday, she even had to go to the hospital due to a panic attack. That’s when she realised she has to change her ways. She was so motivated she lost 100 lbs in less than half a year. All she did was eat 2000 kcal a day and went on 20-minute walks. That was the realistic and manageable approach that worked. Soon after she got a role on American Horror Story, which was also a sobering experience. She was required to wear a fatsuit for the role and that made her think how she never wants to get to that point in her life where her weight would prevent her from doing anything.
Financial Struggles
You might think that when you get a role on a hit show it immediately makes you rich but that’s not true. After her job on American Horror story ended Chrissy went back to struggles. At one point the money ran out, she couldn’t afford rent and had to move in with a friend. She’s thankful for her support network. It was her friends and family who made sure she kept going. Her friends let her live with them for free and encouraged her to go on more auditions when she wasn’t getting any roles and couldn’t afford acting classes they would offer to go through lines with her. She was in debt on all her credit cards though. She had nothing to her name when she when the role of Kate came along.
This Is Us
When she saw the script for This Is Us Chrissy immediately knew the role of Kate was meant for her. She begged her agent to let her audition because it finally felt like a role she absolutely related to. She felt like this show was going to be amazing at truly get down to the issues of weight loss, what it feels like to struggle with obesity and feel inadequate and live in the shadows. Chrissy says that even the audition felt different, from the moment she stepped into the room it just felt right and when she got a callback and they asked her to step into a scene it already felt like she was being directed on a set.
Success And Honesty
This Is Us brought Chrissy the success she always dreamed off. She counts her blessings every day and still struggles to understand how this happened to her. She’s slowly been able to pay back her friends and family and get her financial situation in order, but she still feels unsure and guilty whenever she splurges on something for herself. But she’s learning and taking it all in one day at a time. Chrissy says that her co-stars feel like real family to her and she’s never been this happy at work in her life. Her contract doesn’t require her to lose weight, but as the character arc evolves and Kate loses some weight, Chrissy plans to lose weight too. She says it’s good to have extra motivation.
Using The Power For Good
In every interview, Chrissy becomes more and more open about her life and her story. She wants to use her newfound platform to bring awareness and educate people and make those who struggle with similar problems feel less alone. In one of her interviews with The Wrap Chrissy summed it up really well: “I think we fear what we don’t know…. The show is educating people in that people who are overweight don’t just sit in a corner eating themselves into oblivion. The food is the symptom, it’s not the issue. When you put the food down, the issues come up. And that’s what we need to be talking about.”