Alex Carson
No one loses weight overnight. Regardless of what any of those misleading fad diet influencers and bogus supplement ads might lead you to believe. There’s no ‘easy button’ way to lose a ton of poundage without hard work, dedication, and adopting healthy habits. But for those that make the appropriate life changes, adopt a sensible diet and commit to a daily exercise regimen. Success is not only possible but almost guaranteed.
The main problem that many people run into when trying to lose weight is ‘falling off the wagon’ so to speak. They might go into things inspired and committed to getting in shape. They might even see some early results and get really excited. But when the drastic changes they are anticipating don’t come as soon as they might have expected. They often get discouraged and quickly revert to old habits.
One star, however, that was able to stick to his guns and keep his weight loss goal commitments is King Of Queens actor Kevin James.
Keep watching to learn all about Kevin James’ Transformation’ inspiring transition from being out of shape and overweight to being a lean, mean fighting machine. And also, who managed to lose a staggering 80 pounds in a matter of months.
From Football Player To Hit Sitcom Lead
Kevin James has had a rather remarkable career. In college, he played football before discovering his love for standup and transitioning to pursuing a career as a comic. Eventually his led to him landing a role in a popular American sitcom that changed his life forever.
But In order to get to that point, James experienced numerous life events that shaped his worldview and shifted his perspective. Also had him questioning just about everything. As we touched on in the intro, success just doesn’t come overnight, and rarely are stars made by accident.
Let’s take a look back at Kevin James’ life before scoring the role of Doug Heffernan on CBS’ The King Of Queens.
James was born Kevin George Knipfind on the 26th of April, 1965, in Mineola, New York. And also grew up in Stony Brook, New York. His mother was an office worker, while his father owned an insurance agency. Keep watching to learn all about Kevin James’ Transformation’ inspiring transition.
James’ older brother was comedian and actor Gary Valentine. He also has a sister named Leslie.
In High School, James wrestled in the 145 lb weight class. One of his team members, Mick Foley, would eventually find a career wrestling professional. Unfortunately, an injury James sustained resulted in his dreams of going pro being slashed
Once in college, James majored in sports communication while playing Halfback on the State University of New York at Cortland’s varsity team. But once again a season-ending back injury permanently ended his sports career.
As a child, Kevin known for being the class clown, and as he grew up, he never lost his knack for making people laugh. Once his sport’s aspirations had fizzled. He fell back on his love for comedy and spent the next ten years performing in the Long Island comedy club circuit.
James given his first big break when he made his solo standup debut in 1989 at the famous East Side Comedy Club on Long Island. From that moment onward, James knew that there was nothing else in life he wanted more than to become a career comedian. But that didn’t mean that his road to success would be an easy one.
James’ first night out on stage was magical. The audience seemed to vibe with his comedic stylings naturally and everything went smoothly. The energy was intoxicating, and James clearly seemed to be in his element.
The second night out, however, James went out with the same material expecting similar results. But instead of having the audience hanging on his every word and erupting into laughter with every punchline, he totally bombed.
At that moment, he considered cutting his losses and quitting comedy for good, but fortunately, he didn’t. Not letting one failure get him down, James worked up the courage to get back on stage and give the audience everything he had.
After getting back into the groove of things, James career was once again back on the rise.
He first appeared on television in 1991 in The New Candid Camera. Showing off his comedic time and improve skills by playing practical jokes on unsuspecting people. Kevin soon found himself a frequent guest on late-night talk shows like The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson and The Late Show With David Letterman.
He later moved to LA, where he befriended Ray Romano. This friendship led to him guest starring on Ray’s hit CBS sitcom Everybody Loves Raymond. Romano loved James and thought he showed a lot of potential for television. So, he got work writing a script for a series in which James would be the series lead.
In 1998, the network decided to go ahead and give James his very own sitcom, The King Of Queens.
Keep watching to learn all about Kevin James’ Transformation’ inspiring transition. Real quick – if you’re enjoying this video so far, take a moment to show us a little support by giving us a like and subscribing to the Facts Verse channel.
James Felt Like The Weakest Link
Compared to James’ co-stars Leah Remini and Jerry Stiller, who he saw as having a tremendous amount of talent and experience in the industry. Kevin felt like the odd man out. While he had proven himself to be a gifted standup comic, he was far from being a seasoned actor.
Especially during the production of the sitcom’s first season, James felt out of place. Filming a TV show is very different than going out on stage and delivering a standup routine. With comedy, he was in total control of things. But on a studio set with all of the cameras, bright lights, and other cast members to contend with, he felt a bit like a fish out of water.
Understandably, James struggled at first to get his bearings. It was like he was having to learn how to be a comic all over again. Suddenly everything he thought he knew had changed. He couldn’t simply rest on his laurels if he wanted this sitcom business to work.
At first, he didn’t even know what simple things like upstage and downstage meant. He’d often make rookie mistakes like blocking the camera with his head or forgetting where he was supposed to be on set. None of it felt natural in the beginning, but eventually, he adapted to things and found that he was no longer the helpless noobie that he initially thought thought himself to be.
The King Of Queens went on to air for nine seasons before finally coming to an end in 2007. While the critics weren’t always blown away by the series, The King Of Queens was a massive hit with audiences. And spent many years being one of the most-watched series on television.
After the sitcom ended, James went on to have a successful film career. He appeared alongside Will Smith in the 2005 comedy Hitch before sharing the screen with Adam Sandler in I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry.
He followed that up with appearances in Zookeeper and the hit 2009 film Paul Bart: Mall Cop.
Looking back on things, it’s remarkable how far Kevin James had come since his early days on television. He went from feeling like he didn’t belong on the set of The Kings Of Queens during it’s inaugural season to being one of the most well-known and highest-paid comedy film stars of the mid to late 2000’s. Keep watching to learn all about Kevin James’ Transformation’ inspiring transition.
James’ Inspirational Weight Loss Story
James had always been known for being a rather husky guy. At his biggest, the star weighed 290 pounds. But things started to change for him after he was cast in the 2012 film Here Comes the Bloom. In that flick, James was to play a high school science teacher who becomes an MMA fighter in order to rescue his school’s dwindling arts budget.
After being cast as the film’s lead, James knew that if he wanted to be able to go toe-to-toe in the ring. He would have to lose 80 pounds and develop some serious muscle mass.
To prepare for the role, James solicited the help of MMA trainer Ryan Parsons. When asking the seasoned mixed martial art’s master for help. James asked him to treat him just as he would if he was actually going to be a real fighter.
Parson’s first bit of advice for James was to go into his training knowing why he was doing what he was doing while having a clear goal in mind.
James dived headlong into his training, giving it everything he had. It wasn’t easy, and his trainers gave him hell, but he never once became discouraged or considered giving up. Despite having a busy schedule, he remained determined to lose weight and get ripped. Even though he was constantly traveling for work, nothing stopped him. Keep watching to learn all about Kevin James’ Transformation’ inspiring transition.
His multi-hour workouts consisted of him running up and down flights of hotel stairs or through whatever town he was in at the time. And whenever he was in the gym, the intensity of his workouts would be dialed up significantly.
James would do countless sets of situps and pushups every day with a medicine ball in addition to daily hour-long boxing workouts. While maintaining a low-carb diet, James worked on his boxing, jiu-jitsu, kickboxing and wrestling skills.
Judging by how ripped James looked in Here Comes The Bloom. It’s safe to say that all of his hard work and sacrifice paid off. James ended up losing a staggering 80 pounds for the role and developed substantial muscle tone.
It’s been a decade since Here Comes the Bloom hit theaters. And James has since put back on some weight, but even though he might not be in the same great shape that he once was. His weight loss journey is still very inspirational.
Did you know that King of Queens star Kevin James once lost 80 pounds for a film role and that he initially had doubts that he would ever be a successful actor? Let us know in the comments. Keep watching to learn all about Kevin James’ Transformation’ inspiring transition.
Before you go, take a moment to show us a little support by giving this video a like and subscribing to the Facts Verse channel.
Tap the bell to turn on notifications. That way, you can keep up with all of our latest and upcoming videos without missing a beat.
As always, thanks for watching. We’ll see you soon with more content covering some of your favorite Hollywood films, television shows, and actors.
