We love an against-all-odds weight loss story as much as the next person, but when it comes at the expense of comedy, that's when we become torn. On one hand, a major downside to overweight comedic actors shedding the pounds is that they often shed much of the physical comedy that comes along with their size. On the other hand, losing all that weight tends to help them live longer and healthier lives. At the end of the day, if a funny fat celebrity can slim down and still make us laugh, we're all for it. If they can't, well that's fine, too, but they'll still have to be deemed "Not funny anymore" in accordance with our list until they can find a new way to make us laugh again.
Zach Galifianakis
Zach Galifianakis can comically fall down with the best of them, but that's never really been his appeal. True, he was a big guy for a long time and has made a number of great jokes poking fun at his own weight in movies and even on his talk show "Between Two Ferns." With his new slimmed down appearance (in both weight and beard) which he recently showed off at the SAG awards, we may have a whole new monster on our hands in terms of comedic appeal. While we're fairly confident he'll remain as funny as he's ever been, with the transformation being so fresh, only time will tell.
Verdict: Hung jury...for now
Chris Pratt
Chris Pratt has played the loveable, schlubby man-child Andy Dwyer on NBC's "Parks & Recreation" for seven seasons now, and he's always been one of the series' funniest characters. However, since slimming down and toning up for his roles in "Guardians of the Galaxy" and the upcoming "Jurassic World," we've noticed just what an important aspect his portliness was to the character. Without having his fat to fall back on for an easy joke, the series has resorted to making him dumber and more childlike, which isn't any more comical in higher doses. Sad to say, but Mr. Pratt is a leading man now, and with his new status comes more of an everyman appeal and less of a funny man appeal.
Verdict: Not funny anymore
Seth Rogen
Seth Rogen has always been on the bigger side, and even when he "slimmed down" for his title role in "The Green Hornet," he still wasn't all that fit. Fortunately, his appeal comes from his stoner comedy vibe and not his fat guy vibe, so it's no big loss when he decides to drop a few pounds for a role here and there. He seems to have gained most of that Green Hornet weight he lost back anyways if his appearance in "Neighbors" is any indication. Physical stature has no baring on his comedic appeal whatsoever.
Verdict: Still funny
Jason Segel
While physical stature may not make or break Seth Rogen, his buddy Jason Segel is a whole other story. While not fat in the traditional sense to begin with, he's certainly never been the fit guy in any of his roles either, always teetering somewhere in between and making himself more relatable to the common man in that way. But as we mentioned with Chris Pratt, being an everyman isn't what makes you funny. Segel has just always managed to illicit laughs from his audience because he's a good comedic actor. But when he slims down like he did for "Sex Tape," all you find yourself thinking about is whether or not he has some sort of horrible disease that makes him look so pale and unhealthy. Not to make light of sickly-looking people, but it's certainly not good for laughs unless you are playing some sort of funny drug addict or something.
Verdict: Not funny anymore
Ricky Gervais
This one is a no-brainer, as being fat has never had anything to do with what makes Ricky Gervais an amusing person. However, the fact that he was fat for so long places him squarely in the "funny fat guys" category regardless. That said, Gervais is sarcastic, a bit pretentious, and all around witty, but he never has been nor will be primarily known as the fat guy in anything he's done. He's been fat while also being a combination of those other characteristics mentioned, but take fat away and it affects his appeal in no obvious way.
Verdict: Still funny
Anthony Anderson
Anthony Anderson could hardly be considered all that funny in the first place on any sort of regular basis, but he's certainly had his moments throughout the years. That said, I always found him funnier in the dramatic roles he would play whenever he had to be intimidating due to him being such a fat dude. He wasn't big and strong looking, he was just big, so it would never sit right any time he tried to act threatening. Now that he's slimmed down, he's certainly someone who could be taken seriously in dramatic roles, but his humorous appeal is pretty much the same as it ever was.
Verdict: Still funny (if you ever found him funny to begin with)
Horatio Sanz
Not to be especially morbid, but all the really funny fat guys from "Saturday Night Live" died before their time. Horatio Sanz was always the exception to that statement up until he was able to drop a bunch of weight. But by that point, he'd kind of run his course. We know it's a bit subjective to say depending on who's reading this, but when's the last time you heard anything about the guy? He was hysterical on "SNL" and ninety percent of the time it was due to him being fat or playing a role that was made funnier because he was fat. Outside of that, we can't recall a funny thing he's done since.
Verdict: Not funny anymore
Will Sasso
Will Sasso falls into the same dilemma we had with Anthony Anderson. If you found him funny through the years, slimming down probably didn't affect your opinion of his humor all that much. We will say that especially in his "MadTV" days, his physical comedy was a staple considering he was one of the bigger guys on the show. Overall, though, he didn't lose enough weight in the first place that he looks drastically different. If anything, shaving his head was more what has changed his look. Being slightly thinner, however, hasn't really swayed us on him one way or the other.
Verdict: Still funny
John Goodman
John Goodman has proven himself to be a fluctuator. Even though he dropped 100 pounds between 2007 and 2010 by quitting drinking and starting a regular exercise routine, his healthy habits appear to have dwindled in recent years. While still not as heavy as his 368-pound heyday on "Roseanne," he is back to big guy status as far as we're concerned. And although he's not necessarily unappealing in his thinner frame, his comedic edge certainly lacked its punch as a smaller guy. But he's such a dynamic and charming actor all around that he still found ways to make a slender John Goodman work. Even so, it's nice to have to old Goodman back.
Verdict: Still funny
Rob McElhenney
We'll end on a bit of a cheat, but one we still have no problem including. Even though Rob McElhenney was a funny skinny guy prior to the great Fat Mac experiment of season 7 of "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia," once he went fat, we didn't want him to go back. Fortunately, when he did slim back down the following season, it wasn't as much of a shock as the initial weight gain because he managed to retain the same level of hilarity in new ways (aka really starting to lay the Gay Mac angle on with more gusto). Fat or not, we are always laughing at the creator and star of FXX's funniest comedy.
Verdict: Still funny