Comedy actress Rebel Wilson has revealed that she deliberately gained weight early on in her career and used to her “advantage”.

The 36 year old actress, who has racked up a large amount of starring roles in comedies like Bridesmaids and Grimsby, but is probably best known for her role as Fat Amy in the Pitch Perfect movies, was interviewed by the Daily Telegraph.

Asked about her size and how she felt about it probably being the most recognised aspect of her fame, she revealed that she once wrote a play and cast herself alongside a much larger girl, and quickly noticed that her co-star was being better received – which she ascribed to her weight.

Rebel WilsonRebel Wilson made the decision to use her size to her advantage early on in her career

“I was like: ‘Oh. That girl's getting a lot of laughs, a lot easier than me. What is it?’ Because I don't think there's much difference in talent,” she said.

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“I remember distinctly thinking: ‘I think it's because she's fatter’. And then, I don't know if it was mega-conscious, but I thought: ‘How can I get more laughs? Maybe if I was a bit fatter…’ And then suddenly I was fatter, and doing comedy.”

Australian-born Wilson also opened up about a hormonal condition from which she suffers that causes her to gain and retain weight quicker than normal. However, she decided relatively early on that she should not try to fight it, and instead use her size to her benefit.

“I saw my size as being an advantage, whereas so many women see it as a disadvantage,” and says that she doesn’t feel under pressure to conform to the usual Hollywood standard. “I just like being who I am. No pressure could change that.”

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