Richard E. Grant Says Julianne Moore Was Fired From 'Can You Ever Forgive Me?' For Wanting To Wear A Fat Suit

At this point, it’s common knowledge that Julianne Moore was the original star of the Oscar-nominated film, “Can You Ever Forgive Me?” We also know that before original director Nicole Holofcener left the production, she fired Moore from the role of Lee Israel. Of course, Melissa McCarthy would go on to take the role and join new director Marielle Heller for the film, with the actress earning an Oscar nomination. But we never learned why Moore was fired from the film. That is, until now.

Previously, when Moore spoke about the role, she just said that she was fired for “creative differences” with the director. Of course, that’s just Hollywood speak and could mean a variety of things. It’s basically the equivalent of “scheduling conflict.”

READ MORE: Julianne Moore Reveals “Painful” Situation Surrounding Her Firing From ‘Can You Ever Forgive Me?’

However, in a recent appearance, co-star Richard E. Grant spilled the beans about what went on behind the scenes that led to the departure of Moore. According to the actor, Moore wanted to use a fat suit and a prosthetic nose to appear more like the real Lee Israel. But when she approached Holofcener about the idea, the director quickly shot it down.

“Nicole Holofcener said, ‘you’re not going to do that,'” Grant said (via BBC).

This led to Moore’s dismissal from the project, and thus, is the “creative differences” that the actress referred to in previous interviews.

Clearly, McCarthy doesn’t have the same proportions as Moore, and was a more apt choice for the role. But it does bring up an interesting issue. Are we now past the point where fat suits and prosthetics are deemed appropriate? For men, it doesn’t seem to be much of an issue, with Gary Oldman winning a Best Actor Oscar recently for a role that required a fat suit and prosthetics. However, there’s the fairly recent story of Zoe Saldana attempting to use a fake nose, combined with darker makeup, to make herself appear more like Nina Simone for a role.

Either way, it’s an interesting little tidbit to add to the lore surrounding what turned out to be a pretty great film.