Awesome Fat Guy of the Week.

It's been a while since the last Awesome Fat Guy of the Week. I wasn't sure who I should feature after being gone for so long. Eventually my decision was made for me. The man I chose had been a mainstay of the TV Sitcom landscape in the late 90s and early 2000s. He then began to appear on the big screen along with  many A list stars. Before all of that he was a successful stand-up comedian. His latest movie is what made me decide to feature him here. As for what that movie is, we'll get to it. For the moment let's just say that Kevin James is the Awesome Fat Guy of the Week.

Kevin James was born Kevin George Knipflin in Mineola, New York on April 26, 1965. He was raised with his brother Gary (Comedian Gary Valentine) and sister Leslie in Stony Brook, Long Island. He graduated from Ward Melville High School in 1983. While there he was on the school's football and wrestling teams. One of the other members of the wrestling team was none other than WWE Superstar Mick Foley. After high school Kevin went to the State University of New York at Cortland, but did not graduate.

James began his comedy career in 1989. He debuted at the East Side Comedy Club in Long Island, New York. Eventually he began to appear on talk-shows where he gained much notoriety. He has appeared on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Late Show with David Letterman, Dennis Miller Live, and Live with Regis and Kathy Lee. Kevin would later move to Los Angeles where he befriend Ray Romano. This led to James appearing on Everybody Loves Raymond, which in turn lead to Kevin scoring his own show on CBS.

The King of Queens debuted on September 21, 1998. On the show Kevin played a blue collar delivery man. He was married to Carrie played by Leah Remini and they lived with her father Arthur who was played by Jerry Stiller. The show was built around James character, Doug, who was a likeable albeit immature man. The show, which I personally enjoyed, ran for 9 season and reached 207 episodes in total. During that time the character of Doug, as played by James, appeared on two other series, Everybody Loves Raymond, which James had appeared on as different character before King of Queens, and Becker.

While starring on The King Of Queens Kevin began to appear on the big screen. At first he had small roles in  movies such as 50 First Dates and Pinocchio. As time went on he began to get co-starring roles, in films such as Hitch, Monster House, Grilled, I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry, and You Don't Mess With The Zohan.

In 2009 James wrote, produced, and starred in Paul Blart: Mall Cop. It was his first starring role on the big screen. The movie, which was made for $26 million, went on to earn $181,770,978. This solidified James as a top star and box office draw. He followed up this success by appearing in Grown Ups with Adam Sandler and Chris Rock. That movie was a huge success and made over $270 million. James then appeared alongside Vince Vaughn in The Dilemma.  This movie barely broke even and was somewhat of a flop. Most recently James starred in the Zookeeper, which featured the voices of Sylvester Stallone, Cher, Nick Nolte, Adam Sandler, and Bas Rutten. This movie ended up making $169,852,759.

You may be wondering who Bas Rutten is? He is a former MMA fighter and a real life friend on James. You see Kevin is a huge fan of MMA and even trains alongside Rutten. This maybe surprising, but a lot of James appeal comes from his physical comedy. While his weight has fluctuated in the past he has always been a very active individual. Which brings me to why I decided to do this post now. You see I have a list of names of men that are worthy of being called Awesome. Sometimes a see something that pushes one of those name to the forefront. That happened with Kevin James. I had always intended to feature him but when I heard about his new movie I new it had to be sooner rather than later.

James has taken his love of MMA and his comedic skills and made a move that melds the two. Here Comes the Boom, which is slated to be Released on October 12, 2012, is that movie. In it James stars as Scott Voss a former collegiate wrestler turned teacher, who sees his school faced with budget cuts and decides to do something about. He embarks on a career in MMA, after he learns what kind of money he can make even if he loses. The movie also stars Henry Winkler, Salma Hayek, and Bas Rutten. The preview, which you can see above, brought an immediate smile to my face. Not only because I am a fan of MMA and Kevin James, but also because the film has a certain 'feel' to it. This may seem odd but I get a feeling of warmth and of someone overcoming the odds. It almost reminds me of one of my favorite movies The Principal, except not as harsh and violent. After Here Comes The Boom James has a number of other projects on the horizon.

James has not only had a fulfilling career he has also done quite well for himself in his personal life. He married Steffiana De La Cruz (the rather attractive woman pictured above) and the couple have three children together.  All in all it is fairly obvious that Kevin has done amazingly well for himself.

The question is "Does that make him Awesome?". My answer is that he made a movie (Here Comes the Boom) about something he loved. To do this he lost 80 pounds. This man, who has been heavy for decades, wanted to do something and he saw an obstacle before him. He pushed forward and overcame it. People talk a lot about "method" actors like Christian Bale and what they do to their bodies. James may not be spoken of in the same circles but he did something similar. That is awesome. That is why Kevin James is the Awesome Fat Guy of the Week.
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