“I didn’t leave that movie, I was fired”: Julianne Moore’s Fat Suit Request Got Her Fired from $12M Movie That Cast Melissa McCarthy Instead, Got Her an Oscar Nod

Julianne Moore once revealed a shocking detail about her exit from a 2018 biopic that added glamour to Melissa McCarthy’s acting career. The former is widely recognized for her versatility and critically acclaimed performances in the entertainment world. Despite her insane acting prowess, she was eventually fired from the 2018 movie, Can You Ever Forgive Me? with the latter replacing the former. 

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She was set to portray the lead role of Lee Israel but her fat suit request caused her to get fired from the movie which was about to go into production phase in just a few days. 

Julianne Moore Wanted a Fat Suit to Portray Lee Israel in Can You Ever Forgive Me?

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In a 2019 appearance on Watch What Happens Live, the Academy Award winner, Julianne Moore unraveled the behind-the-scenes drama which led her to leave the project. She told the host, Andy Cohen about getting fired from the movie.

“I didn’t leave that movie, I was fired.

Initially, it was reported that she left the film due to creative differences but she shared her side of the story stating, 

“Nicole fired me. So yeah, that’s the truth. I think she didn’t like what I was doing. I think that her idea of where the character was, was different than where my idea of where the character was, and so she fired me.”

The film screenplay was written by Nicole Holofcener who was originally set to direct the movie until Marielle Heller took her place. 

While she did not reveal the reason for her disassociation from the project, actor, Richard E. Grant who played Jack Hock in the film finally unraveled the truth. 

“Julianne Moore wanted to wear a fat suit and a false nose to play Lee Israel,” he told DailyMail adding “and Nicole Holofcener said, ‘You’re not going to do that.”’

Before his confession, reports were already circulating about the actress requesting a prosthetic nose to resemble Lee Israel.

Melissa McCarthy Eventually Replaced Julianne Moore in Can You Ever Forgive Me?

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The 62-year-old actress’s exit from the biopic happened just days before the kick-off of the production process. With such a drastic change in the movie’s production, the movie was put to a temporary halt.

This led to Nicole Holofcener stepping down from her directing duties with her first choice replacement, Marielle Heller taking over the project. Eventually, Melissa McCarthy was cast for the lead protagonist’s role with Heller focusing the movie on the friendly bond between Israel and Hock.

“The Jack and Lee relationship for me was the heart of the story,” said Heller as per IndieWire. “It felt so poignant for me. Lee is not glamorous. In New York, you have all these interesting people jammed up against each other. She’s a woman of a certain age who gets ignored by society, gets passed on the street, who never had kids, is living alone with a cat but has an interesting internal life happening.”

Eventually, Heller’s vision along with McCarthy’s impeccable performance made the movie a critical hit.

Can You Ever Forgive Me? is available to watch on Apple TV.