ARTICLES
Biggs Gets Bigger
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After going from chunky to hunky, Jason Biggs is trying to tip the scales once again. 

Why? Because the movie that made him famous wants him back -- flab and all. 


“American Pie,” the 1999 gross-out teen flick about high school seniors aiming to lose their virginity, launched the 22-year-old’s fame -- and infamy -- by putting him in a scene with pastry and … well, let’s just say that it wasn’t a Sara Lee commercial. Biggs, 22, is ecstatic to be returning with the rest of the now-famous cast (Shannon Elizabeth, Mena Suvari, Chris Klein and others), but there’s still one big problem: These days he looks nothing like his “Pie” character. 

“I’ve got two weeks before filming and I’m trying to put it on the best I can … But realistically, we’re sort of in the 11th hour here so I don’t think it’ll be that drastic of a change.” Biggs says, adding that his weight loss may have to be explained in the new script. “I’m trying to eat foods that are higher in ‘good fat content,’ i.e., avocados. As opposed to the junk-food diet, which is not only not healthy for you, but harder to lose the weight … [so I'm eating] lots of cheese, lots of salmon and tuna.” 

Contrary to popular belief, Biggs has always been “a pretty thin guy.” It was only until he moved to Los Angeles to pursue film that he “went from home-cooked meals to eating McDonald’s for breakfast, lunch and dinner.” After “American Pie,” he began mountain biking to keep himself active and take advantage of the California weather. Before he knew it, the pounds were melting off, and he was back to his original form by the time he appeared in “Loser” and “Boys and Girls.” 

Audiences will see the slim Biggs in this week’s “Saving Silverman,” directed by “Big Daddy”'s Dennis Dugan. When Silverman (Biggs) finds who he thinks is the girl of his dreams (Amanda Peet), he becomes so blinded to her not-so-perfect (to put it mildly) ways that it’s up to his best friends (Jack Black and Steve Zahn) to “save” him. The film provided Biggs the unique opportunity to perform alongside rock legend Neil Diamond, who appears in a cameo (Biggs, Zahn and Black play in a Diamond cover band in the film). 

“I wouldn’t have considered myself a fan of Neil Diamond,” Biggs admits. “[But] when we started filming I realized just how many songs I knew of his, and how many songs I knew almost every word to.” 

As for performing in a stadium, Biggs says, “It’s a story that I’m talking about now but I’ll be talking about forever. I was onstage performing with Neil Diamond before thousands of screaming fans. It brought out the inner rock star in all of us.” 

His next project is likely to take him up another memorable level; Biggs will take a dramatic turn in the upcoming “Prozac Nation,” based on the book by Elizabeth Wurtzel and starring Christina Ricci. But he claims that taking a serious role isn’t a strategic career move on his part. 

“It’s not a conscious decision necessarily to break from a specific genre, 'cause I love doing comedy and goofball comedies,” Biggs says. “But it’s interesting how the industry works. If they see you in a role that’s successful then they want to keep using you as that. I also feel like it’s a natural progression … I’ve done a lot as a kid, but I’m really only four movies into my film career. Hopefully it’ll be a long one, so I’m not like, ‘Oh my God, I have to break from this right now.’ I hope that there will be many opportunities to do all kinds of roles.”