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By Sharon Waxman
The Wrap
Hollywood stereotypes die hard. And Gabourey Sidibe -- a plus-size, African-American actress with less-than-perfect features -- fits no casting agent's definition of a leading lady. But she is not deterred.
"I never wanted to be an actress," said Sidibe, 26, the star of the just-released "Precious," whose understated performance as an abused, 350-lb, illiterate teenager has garnered critical acclaim and unexpectedly catapulted her onto the shortlist of potential Oscar nominees.
"I didn't want to open myself up to public speculation," she said in an interview with TheWrap. "But now that it's in my lap, I've fallen in love with acting, with creating a character from words on a page."
"I wasn't an actress before," she said. "I am now."
After this weekend, her dream of a Hollywood career took a big leap forward. The film "Precious: Based on the novel 'Push' by Sapphire" set a box office record by taking in $1.8 million on just 18 screens across the country, a record-setting $100,000 per screen.
More from TheWrap: 'Precious' director and star on movie's message of hope
To play the title character of "Precious," Sidibe -- everyone calls her "Gabby" -- took on the persona of an illiterate, abused teenager in New York City who is pregnant for the second time, by her father. The performance requires her to draw on a deep well of pain, while projecting a quiet, almost miraculous ability to rise above the injustices of her life.
"Precious" director Lee Daniels has said that when it came to casting the title role, he called a leading Hollywood agent and said he was looking for a 350-lb African-American girl.
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