Brett Kelly, 22, was just eight-years-old when he was cast as little Thurman Merman in 2003’s hit Bad Santa. In the years that have past since the movie hit theaters, the curly-headed kid who accompanied Billy Bob Thornton on his terrible adventures has definitely grown up and slimmed down. But that all had to change if he wanted to reprise his role in the long overdue sequel.
Bad Santa 2 director Mark Waters reached out to Brett, who had taken a hiatus from acting to graduate from the University of British Columbia, to get him on board for the sequel. There was just one caveat to the offer. Brett needed to look like Thurman Merman again. Time to gain 40 pounds!
“We said: ‘By the way, we’re doing Bad Santa 2. So get in shape, or the opposite of shape,'” Mark told USA Today. “Brett looks like the spitting image of the kid Thurman, but older. When he walked on set, it was even more jaw-dropping in some ways than seeing [Billy Bob].”
The Sexiest Former Child Stars — PICS
As you can see from the pics, Mark isn’t lying! Despite the fact that Brett looked like THIS, he committed to the role and gained an astounding amount of weight for it. Talk about going method! After he put on the strawberry blonde curly wig, it was incredible!
Brett got into shape as he grew up for a number of reasons, one major one being that he would no longer get recognized as the kid from Bad Santa. “I went on a trip to Vegas with my family when I was about 12 and was getting recognized every five minutes,” Brett told USA Today. “Everyone being completely bombed that walked up to me made for some funny moments.
“I’ve been living an extremely normal and boring life. I went to a regular high school, graduated from university, and basically that brings us up to this point. I got the call about Bad Santa 2 literally two days after I finished my last exam. The timing could not have been any better.”
HollywoodLifers, are you excited for Bad Santa 2? Tell us in the comments!