Director Kevin Smith
The “Mallrats” and “Clerks” director talks to The Guardian about, among other things, being a big guy:
“The first time I became body-conscious was when I was nine and went to the water park with my cousin. We were having a blast going down the slide when this dude at the top goes, “Sorry, man, pregnant ladies are not allowed on the slide.” The first five people behind me were like, “Heeheehee!” I went and put my shirt on… for the rest of my life.
I was brought up a Catholic. My mum used to say, “Kevin, we all have crosses to bear, and being fat is yours.” It shapes your attitude to life, defines your character. Fat made me what I am – as a person and as a film-maker. If I had been a thin kid, girls would have just landed in my lap. But fatties don’t get picked first – in sport, as a boyfriend, anything. So we have to work harder and try to give something else. Some dude will put on the right clothes, put his hair back, look picture-perfect and that’s his move. He walks into a room and things just come to him. When people like me walk into a room, we have to start working to win people back, because we’re not the physical paradigm and girls start looking for somebody else. But if they give you enough time, and you’re funny enough or clever enough or interesting enough, that’s a different set of plumage you can show off.”
Read the full story here.
