Bank of Dave 2: The Loan Ranger is on the way, but what is there to know about the life of its star, Chrissy Metz?
It’s been two years since the Bank of Dave first made its Netflix debut, following Burnley-born Dave Fishwick (played by Rory Kinnear), who set up a community bank to help local businesses and his community.
The second film, which is to premiere on Friday, January 10, will this time see Dave take on payday loan companies after finding out that some residents were being charged up to 5,000 percent interest.
Along with Rory Kinnear, actress Chrissy Metz will star as dedicated US investigative journalist Jessica, who specialises in finance and becomes invested in Dave’s story and struggles.
Before the film’s release, here’s all there is to know about Bank of Dave star Chrissy Metz.
Actress Chrissy Metz was behind Ima Wiggle in FX’s American Horror Story: Freak Show.
(Image: FX)
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Early life and career
Born in Homestead, Florida, Metz spent much of her early years in Japan, where her dad, Mark Metz, was stationed by the US Navy.
Their family later moved to Gainesville, Florida, where she remained throughout her education and then worked as a preschool teacher aged 18 to 21.
It wasn’t until she was 22 years old that Metz decided to take a leap of faith and move to Los Angeles in the hopes of becoming an actress and singer.
Massive weight loss
The 44-year-old star told Very Well Mind that she experienced physical and emotional abuse as a child and so struggled with emotional eating and self-esteem issues growing up.
She reached a weight of 399 lbs as an adult, but it wasn’t until her 30th birthday that she realised she needed to take action as she suffered heart palpitations.
Metz told People: “I’m like, What is this? Am I dying? What’s happening?” she tells PEOPLE. “It was really scary — really, really, really scary.”
She skipped her own party and went to the hospital, who quickly diagnosed it as a panic attack.
Metz said the doctors told her: “‘You can’t continue on this path’, before she said: “I’m like, ‘Oh, this is not just a physical thing. It’s like a soul/spirit/mind/body collective thing. Not everything’s connecting.’”
This awakening forced her to take her health journey seriously: “I was so gung-ho that I lost 100 lbs in less than five months.
“All I did was eat a 2,000-calorie diet and walk 20 minutes a day.”
American Horror Story
Metz got her first major break in 2014 when she landed the role of the big-top “fat lady” Ima Wiggles in FX’s American Horror Story.
Actress Chrissy Metz portrays Kate in the hit NBC drama This Is Us.
(Image: NBC)
However, she had to wear a fat suit for the part, which Metz described as a “sobering” experience.
She continued: “I thought, ‘What if I become that heavy and can’t walk around or get stuck in the doorframe? I was like, ‘I don’t want this for me.’”
This is Us
Metz’s biggest role to date is portraying Kate in NBC’s drama This Is Us, a role that radically changed her life.
Previously, at PaleyFest’s This Is Us panel in Los Angeles, she said: “[Before the show] I was broke. And broken…[But] through Kate’s healing, I am now healed.
“Because as a big girl from a small town, you just didn’t have that opportunity.
“And to bring people into my life, into my sphere, and to have people being healed through the character, through playing the character which I’m healing from is like, you can’t even. I couldn’t dream it.”
She also told Glamour in 2017 that she had just “81 cents” in her bank account when Metz booked This Is Us.
Metz commented: “I could cry right now just thinking about it. Getting the role of Kate has changed everything.”
Love life
In January 2008, the actress married British journalist Martyn Eaden at the courthouse in Santa Barbara, California, but their marriage ended in 2015.
She went on to date songwriter and author Bradley Collins for three years, but the star announced their split on Instagram in 2023.
Metz wrote: “After three and a half years together, we’ve decided to end our romantic relationship amicably.
“While we continue to love each other very much, we believe this is the best path for us both.
“We still have books to write, songs to sing, and a special friendship to keep us in each other’s lives forever.”
Bank of Dave 2: The Loan Ranger premieres on Friday, January 10, on Netflix.