Jonah Hill Losing Roles Because Of Weight? Not If He Plays Rick Rubin In Def Jam Biopic
Is Jonah Hill losing out on movie roles because of his excessive weight gain? According to a Hollywood insider, this apparently may be the case. However, it looks like the actor’s weight gain may work to his benefit if he gets casts as Rick Rubin in a new Def Jam biopic.
BET reports that Universal Pictures has its eyes on Hill, 31, to portray Rick Rubin, one of the founders of Def Jam Records, in a possible upcoming biopic about the record company, based off of the 2002 memoir Life and Def: Sex, Drugs, Money, written by Def Jam co-founder, Russell Simmons. Michael B. Jordan, 28, arguably best-known for his recurring role as Vince Howard in the television series Friday Night Lights, may be cast to portray Simmons.
Although nothing is set in stone at the moment, casting Hill in the movie may prove well for the rampant rumors that keep surfacing against the actor. Earlier this month, a Hollywood insider indicated that no one wanted to cast Hill in future movies due to his excessive weight gain.
“Nobody wants to risk casting an actor who can’t fit into an airplane seat. Jonah better keep losing weight because you have to be a star like Leonardo DiCaprio to get loaned a private jet!”
Although Hill has a number of upcoming projects in the works, including 23 Jump Street, Arms and the Dude, and Hail, Caesar!, critics state that the actor gained more than 70 pounds in a year, prompting movie directors to overlook him for roles. Last month, OK! reported that Hill enlisted the help of Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson to help in get back into shape, yet, the actor has shown previously that he is capable of losing weight on his own.
In 2011, Hill lost more than 40 pounds by jogging and watching his food intake.
“It was just mostly diet. I wish there was some crazy thing that I did, like a pill or a genie or something.”
If Jonah Hill ends up getting cast as Rubin, he may not want to shed the pounds too fast. The 6-feet-tall Rubin, whose well-known for sporting a ZZ-Top style beard, battled with his own weight in the past, weighing, at one point, 320 pounds, before he went on a fitness plan that helped him drop more 130 pounds.
[Photos Courtesy of Brad Barket / Getty Images, Ben Gabbe / Getty Images, & Stephen Lovekin / Getty Images]
