Sarah Paulson regrets 'not thinking more fully' before wearing fat suit on TV show
Sarah Paulson has responded to the controversy surrounding her role as Linda Tripp for the upcoming series Impeachment: American Crime Story.
Speaking to The Los Angeles Times about the backlash relating to her role as the late political figure, the 46-year-old admitted it's hard for her to talk about it without feeling like she's "making excuses".
To play Tripp, Paulson put on 30 pounds (13 kilograms) and donned a five-pound "fat suit".
"There's a lot of controversy around actors and fat suits, and I think that controversy is a legitimate one," she began. "I think fat phobia is real. I think to pretend otherwise causes further harm."
The Bird Box actress argued that she's not sure the responsibility falls on actors to not take on roles that require "the challenge of a lifetime," referring to the intense physical transformation she undertook.
Understanding that it's an "important conversation to be had", Paulson emphasised that any actor playing Tripp would need more than just the "physical self" to be successful in the role.
"I would like to believe that there is something in my being that makes me right to play this part," the star continued. "And that the magic of hair and make-up departments and costumers and cinematographers that has been part of moviemaking, and suspension of belief, since the invention of cinema. Was I supposed to say no (to the part)? This is the question."
Knowing what she "knows now," Paulson said she can't say for sure that she would have taken the part, but the question is "an important thing" for her to reflect on.
"You can only learn what you learn when you learn it," she concluded. "Should I have known? Abso-f**king-lutely. But I do now. And I wouldn't make the same choice going forward."
