KEVIN SMITH - SMITH AMAZED TO BE A GAY 'BEAR' SEX SYMBOL

Filmmaker KEVIN SMITH was stunned when he learned he's considered a sex symbol in a sub-section of the gay community. The Clerks director agreed to appear on the cover of gay magazine A Bear's Life after discovering gay men admired his bearded, overweight look. He says, "Apparently, within the gay community, there's a movement called the Bear Movement, and it mostly consists of dudes... who look like me - people who wear a lot of layers, like a lot of food and whatnot. "Within that community there are bears - guys who look like me - and dudes who are really into them, who are called cubs. And, apparently, I'm the focus of a lot of admiration in this community. I'd be considered something of a coup, a score for a cub - the ultimate bear to get. "And they called and said, 'Do you want to be on the cover of a magazine?' I was like, 'Are you telling me there's someone out there who sexualises me? I'll be on that magazine, totally.'"