Honoree Carrie Fisher poses at the Oscar Wilde Awards at director J.J. Abrams' Bad Robot production company in Santa Monica, California February 19, 2015. (Photo : REUTERS/Kevork Djansezian )
Veteran actress Carrie Fisher was told to lose as much as 35 pounds for her role in the upcoming "Star Wars: The Force Awakens."
Fisher, 59, who is reprising her role as Leia Organa in the seventh installment of the "Star Wars" series, was advised to shed the weight in preparation for filming the movie.
'They don't want to hire all of me - only about three-quarters!" The actress, screenwriter, and novelist told Good Housekeeping in the magazine's January 2016 issue.
"It's an appearance-driven thing. I'm in a business where the only thing that matters is weight and appearance," she continues.
Fisher, who first rose to stardom for her role as Princess Leia Organa in George Lucas' 1977 pop culture hit, "Star Wars," reprised her role in the two other sequels of the original trilogy.
In 1983, at the age of 27, she wore a skimpy gold slave costume for her Jabba the Hutt sequence set on the desert planet of Tatooine in "Return of the Jedi."
The over 30-year-old costume is widely regarded as a Princess Leia standard imitated by "Star Wars" cosplay fans around the world.
Following her struggle with a cocaine addiction and a bipolar disorder, Fisher gradually gained weight over the years, and when she was approached by Lucasfilm to return to the "Star Wars" franchise, she was ordered to lose weight.
According to Cinema Blend, film director J.J. Abrams' plan was to bring together the older, original actors and new characters for "The Force Awakens," but had a stringent set of requirements for the veterans.
One of these requirements was for Fisher to lose the poundage, which the actress admitted having had a difficult time fulfilling.
Fisher is returning to the big screen as General Leia Organa, where she continues her role as it left off from the events of "Return of the Jedi."
"Star Wars: The Force Awakens" will star the original trilogy's icons, including Harrison Ford, and Mark Hamill, who will be joined by Adam Driver, Daisy Ridley and John Boyega when the film opens in theaters on Dec. 18.
