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Gabourey Sidibe on Andrea, The Big C's secret weapon

By April MacIntyre Aug 16, 2010, 19:42 GMT

06/27/2010 - Gabourey Sidibe - Ludacris Hosts 2010 BET Awards Black Carpet Post Party - Boulevard 3 - Hollywood, CA, USA © Keadrick D. Washington / PR Photos

On Showtime's "The Big C", one of the standout cast members is Gabourey Sidibe.  Sidibe plays a smart student who has a massive chip on her shoulder over her weight issues, and her tough girl act is observed by teacher Cathy (Laura Linney), who is looking at the world and her surroundings with new eyes, post terminal Melanoma diagnosis.

Andrea (Sidibe) is observant, clever and yearns to connect with someone, but her defense mechanism is razor sharp wit and caustic commentary.  In a world that judges people first and foremost on appearance, Andrea knows she has no chance for a fair assessment of her ability and personality.

Cathy (Linney) sees through her bravado and sass and decides Andrea is worth fighting for and getting under her skin. Cathy's motivations to help Andrea are rooted in her desire for Andrea to reclaim her health. She challenges Andrea to eat healthier and lose weight, and puts her money where her mouth is.

Sidibe made an impression in the Lee Daniels' film "Precious" and received an Oscar nomination, but real-life Gabby isn't far off from Andrea, as her weight has been a source of ridicule and shock jock fodder, with people questioning Sidibe's ability to play anything beyond the obvious choices.

Tonight, Gabby shines as Andrea on the Showtime series, "The Big C."  She recently gave an interview to Essence and spoke about her new series:

On her new role:

GABOUREY SIDIBE: First of all, it's amazing that I'll forever be known as an Oscar-nominated actress!  [Acting] isn't what I'd planned to do with my life, so just knowing that Precious wasn't a fluke for me is really an awesome feeling.

Andrea's sassy and colorful, but she's kind of mean, too.  That's her defense mechanism.

On the "fat and jolly" line Linney uses in the series:

SIDIBE: I have a very sick sense of humor, so I thought it was hilarious! [laughs] Besides, I know jolly, fat girls and bitchy, fat girls, so perhaps it's not an either/or situation.

On being comfortable in her skin:

SIDIBE: It was a happy accident, actually.  People thought I should hate myself because I don't look like 'the norm,' but what is the norm?  I absolutely believe that you can be anything you want to be and should love yourself, no matter how you look or what anybody thinks.