{"id":41745,"date":"2023-09-28T17:34:22","date_gmt":"2023-09-28T17:34:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/2023\/09\/28\/why-charles-melton-gained-40-lbs-for-his-role-in-may-december\/"},"modified":"2023-09-28T17:34:22","modified_gmt":"2023-09-28T17:34:22","slug":"why-charles-melton-gained-40-lbs-for-his-role-in-may-december","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/2023\/09\/28\/why-charles-melton-gained-40-lbs-for-his-role-in-may-december\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Charles Melton Gained 40 Lbs for His Role in ‘May December’"},"content":{"rendered":"


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\n Charles Melton as Joe. Cr. in \u2018May December.\u2019<\/span> Fran\u00e7ois Duhamel \/ Courtesy of Netflix<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Charles Melton<\/strong>\u2018s performance in May December<\/em> is already critically acclaimed \u2014 but he almost didn\u2019t score the role.<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m so grateful Charles Melton came into our consciousness. I didn\u2019t know him from Riverdale<\/em><\/a>. His looks were almost a deterrent,\u201d director Todd Haynes told Vulture<\/em><\/a> on Wednesday, September 27. \u201cI felt that Joe would be a good-looking man, but Charles has that sort of hunkiness and pin-up quality that wasn\u2019t necessarily how I pictured him.\u201d<\/p>\n

Melton, 32, who plays Joe, gained weight before filming his scenes.<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201c[He did it] to change his chiseled self into something more familiar. A suburban man in this place,\u201d Haynes, 62, added. \u201cThere\u2019s such remarkable physicality in the choices he made as an actor. A friend of mine saw a cut of it and he said, \u2018Charles moves like a child and an old man, a combination of the two\u2019 \u2014 which makes so much sense given his predicament.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\n\t\t\tRelated: <\/span>Natalie Portman and Julianne Moore’s ‘May December’ Film: What to Know<\/a>
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\n\t\t\tMay December is an upcoming film about a couple struggling under the weight of their age gap, which takes inspiration from the story of Mary Kay Letourneau\u2018s infamous affair with her student Vili Fualaau, who was 22 years her junior. According to the synopsis, the film picks up years after a notorious romance between Gracie [\u2026]\t\t<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Before booking May December<\/em>, Melton rose to fame for his portrayal of Reggie Mantle<\/a> on The CW\u2019s Riverdale<\/em>. He played the iconic Archie Comics character for six years<\/a> and also starred in The Sun Is Also a Star, Bad Boys for Life, Heart of Champions <\/em>and Secret Headquarters<\/em>.<\/p>\n

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\n Charles Melton as Reggie Mantle in \u2018Riverdale.\u2019<\/span> The CW<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

His role as Joe in May December<\/em>, however, is Melton like we\u2019re never seen him before.<\/a><\/p>\n

According to the synopsis, the film picks up years after a headline-making romance<\/a> between Gracie (Julianne Moore<\/strong><\/a>) and Joe (Melton) gripped the nation. The couple, who have a 23-year age gap, are getting ready to send their kids off to college when Elizabeth (Natalie Portman<\/strong><\/a>) comes to town in preparation for a new movie based on the couple. Elizabeth starts to do research on Gracie and Joe, which causes their dynamic to unravel as Joe comes to terms with what happened in his youth.<\/p>\n

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\n\t\t\tRelated: <\/span>\u2018Riverdale\u2019 Cast: Then and Now<\/a>
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\n\t\t\tRiverdale is gearing up for its seventh and final season on The CW \u2014 but fans have watched the cast change on and off screen since the series first debuted. In 2017, viewers were introduced to a group of friends who came together to uncover the dark secrets that exist within their town. Based on [\u2026]\t\t<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Earlier this year, Melton recalled how he prepared for a project<\/a>, which he referred to as a \u201ccomplex, compounded, voyeuristic experience\u201d of the human condition.<\/p>\n

\u201cI asked my parents what it was like when I left the house, what kind of conversations they had in their own relationship. They said they were very sad,\u201d he told Variety<\/em> in May. \u201cMy mother is Korean, and I\u2019m first generation on my mother\u2019s side. She cooked every meal for me growing up. My dad was really good at letting go \u2014 at trusting that this new chapter would work out for the best.\u201d<\/p>\n

May December, which already found success at the Cannes Film Festival, draws inspiration from the real-life story of Mary Kay Letourneau<\/a>\u2018s affair with her student Vili Fualaau, who was 22 years her junior. (The controversial pair got married following Letourneau\u2019s release from jail. They remained together for over a decade<\/a> before announcing their separation in 2019.)<\/p>\n

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