Christine Taylor revealed that she was asked to lose 10 pounds before playing Marcia Brady in “The Brady Bunch Movie.”
Taylor discussed auditioning for her role in the 1995 comedy on Wednesday’s episode of the “Office Ladies” podcast, hosted by “The Office” stars Jenna Fischer and Angela Kinsey.
The “Hey Dude” actress, 55, told Fischer and Kinsey that she landed the opportunity to audience for Marcia after playing the character in a live stage version of the original ’70s series, “The Real Live Brady Bunch.”
She related that she received an “out of the blue” message on her answering machine from series creator Sherwood Schwartz, who cold-called her to say he wanted to meet with her about the then-upcoming film, which he was producing.
“I went to Sherwood Schwartz’s house and got to talk to him about ‘The Brady Bunch,’” the “Zoolander” actress — a self-professed huge fan of the classic TV series — said. “It was a punch-me moment … I cannot believe to this day that I didn’t keep my little tape from the answering machine.”
Taylor said she felt she had the role in the bag after her first audition, telling Fischer and Kinsey that she knew “nobody could do it better than [her].”
However, when filming began, Taylor said she faced what she described as a “so ’90s” request during a “very different time in the industry” to lose weight for the role.
“The one thing that I got — and I was not a super heavy person — but they asked me to lose 10 pounds,” she revealed.
Taylor said she agreed at the time to lose the weight, but admitted, “Of course, I was embarrassed when that ask came my way.”
Taylor noted that the request “would never happen today,” but said she wasn’t the only actress being asked to lose weight for a role during that period of time.
The “Wedding Singer” star joked that fans who watch the movie “very closely” can spot her gaining the 10 pounds back, which she said happened after she treated herself to nonfat frozen yogurt once filming wrapped.
“I’ll come into a scene looking a little rounder, and then I exit the scene looking a little thinner, just because of how they had to reshoot things,” she said.
Taylor has been married to Ben Stiller since May 2000, when the two tied the knot after meeting on the set of “Heat Vision and Jack.”
After 17 years of marriage, the couple separated in 2017 but ultimately reconciled in February 2022.
“We were separated and got back together, and we’re happy about that,” Stiller, 60, said at the time. “It’s been really wonderful for all of us. Unexpected, and one of the things that came out of the pandemic.”
Taylor and Stiller have two children together: daughter Ella, 24, and son Quinlin, 21.
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