The first time I saw Ethan Suplee, he made an everlasting impression on me as ”Seth Ryan” in the hard-hitting drama “American History X”.
”Seth” was minor character in ”American History X”, but no one who has seen that movie could forget Ethan’s interpretation. His performance opened up many doors, and when Ethan landed a big role in the heart-warming football drama film “Remember the Titans”, his career truly sky-rocketed. Over the years, Ethan has showed millions of people what a talented, flexible and dynamic actor he is – but he has also become known as one of the biggest guys in Hollywood, literally.
When Ethan was shooting “My Name is Earl”, he weighed 350 pounds. His colossal size offered some benefits – he had a lot of success with his roles as a plus-size character – but Ethan soon began to realize that his obesity was not healthy and decided enough was enough. Today, Ethan Suplee sports an almost unrecognisable figure thanks to a stunning body transformation. And you’re not going to believe your eyes when you see the pictures of him today, in 2020 …
Always a big boy Ethan Suplee was born in 1976, in Manhattan, New York City. His parents, Debbie and Bill, worked as actors and met when they both performed at summer stock theatre. Debbie and Bill also appeared on Broadway, so one could easily say that Ethan was born with acting in his blood. When he was one-year-old, Ethan’s family moved to the west coast and he grew up in Los Angeles, California.
Went on his first diet at age 5 Ethan was always a big boy. Already as a 10-year-old, Ethan weighed over 200 pounds. Of course, his family were worried and tried to help him overcome his obesity. At the age of 5, he was put on his first diet after a visit to his grandparents in Vermont. They were shocked when they saw him.
“Now back then—this was like late ’70s, early ’80s—the fat version of me at 5-years-old was probably close to what the average is today, but back then it was startling. You know, there weren’t a lot of fat kids back then, certainly not as many as there are now,” Ethan told E!.
Ethan’s dad put his son on on a liquid diet of protein shakes and diet sodas.
His dad’s diet worked – for a while. Ethan managed to lose a few pounds, but all the focus on his weight had long-term consequences. In his teens, Ethan began to develop a very unhealthy relationship with food.
“I had this idea now, that food was something that people didn’t want me to have … So if I wanted to have more, I needed to do it privately, and it became something that I was withholding from people,” Suplee explained in his podcast, American Glutton.
At 14, Ethan dropped out of school to pursue acting as a career. He landed his first major role as Willam in the romantic buddy comedy film ”Mallrats”, directed by Kevin Smith.
Always the chubby guy
From the very beginning of his career, Ethan became known and appreciated for his acting talent. But his signature look also created a lot of opportunities, which made it easier for him to stand out in a very competitive environment. Ethan didn’t have any trouble finding work in his 20s, becoming known as the “big dude” in Hollywood. His unique physical appearance was an asset – but he didn’t necessarily like to be casted as the “big guy”.
“I never wanted to do something where I was the fat guy who was the butt of a fat guy joke … I told my agents to look for roles outside the box that could work for me. There were instances where somebody would want to add a line about me being fat and I would just say, ‘Hey, no, we’re not doing that’,” Suplee told People earlier this year.
After his iconic role in American History X, Ethan appeared in movies like Dante’s View, Takedown, Road Trip and Vulgar.
At his heaviest
Many reckon that Ethan’s big breakthrough came as the overweight football player Louie Lastik in the movie Remember the Titans. But it was a rather testing shooting for Ethan, who weighed more than ever before. During the filming of the movie, he was at his heaviest, weighing 530 lbs.
“It was 536, yeah so, I know I weighed that much. I suspect I got heavier than that, but that was the highest I ever could objectively say that I weighed,” Suplee revealed during a recent Generation Iron Fitness & Bodybuilding Network interview. And really, it was no wonder that Ethan was severely overweight. The explanation had its foundings in his everyday life and upbringing.
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