History Main / WrittenInInfirmity

* On ''Series/{{Friends}}'', Creator/MattLeBlanc accidentally dislocated his shoulder while filming an episode and had to wear a sling on his arm. This was then turned into a very effective joke about Joey having a bed-jumping mishap.

* This was done in ''Film/TransformersRevengeOfTheFallen''; since Creator/ShiaLaBeouf injured his arm in a car accident during production, Sam Witwicky injured his arm after Jetfire teleported them into the desert.
* [[Creator/MarxBrothers Chico Marx]] was in a car crash that shattered his kneecap, during the filming of ''Film/HorseFeathers''. One scene, shot shortly after, has Harpo, trying to kidnap two football players and getting beat up, while Chico sits in a chair and directs him.

* In the third season of ''Series/ThirdRockFromTheSun'', Creator/JohnLithgow (Dick) broke his leg playing tennis. Dick (who never stands in the episode immediately after the accident) rides a wheelchair down the stairs breaking his leg. This is complicated because Dick had already sprained his ankle in season two. (Most plots revolve around the characters learning about some aspect of life on Earth, like say getting injured.)

* Featured prominently in ''Film/{{Freaks}}'', which would have had no point at all if it attempted to make the cast appear "normal."

* ''Film/TopGunMaverick'': Creator/ValKilmer [[invoked]][[RoleReprise reprised his role]] as Iceman, and his throat cancer and the troubles to speak its treatment left him with were written in the film.

** Angela's {{surprise pregnancy}} occurred because actress Creator/AlyssaDiaz really was pregnant. This ended up fueling much drama as Angela's [[ImperiledInPregnancy kidnapped by drug trafficker]] La Fiera, with designs on her baby.

* In the 2005 version of ''Film/WarOfTheWorlds'', Creator/MirandaOtto played the remarried ex-wife of the hero, and nearly backed out as she was pregnant. Creator/StevenSpielberg convinced her to stay and worked her pregnancy into the story.

* During the second season of ''Series/{{Grimm}}'', Russell Hornsby (Hank Griffin) injured his ankle. The show had Hank being sent on vacation by his coworkers, who push him in his office chair out of the precinct at the beginning of the episode so he never stands. When he returns by the next episode, he's recieved the same injury while rock climbing.

* In the third season of ''Series/ThirdRockFromTheSun'', Creator/JohnLithgow (Dick) broke his leg playing tennis or racketball or something. Dick (who never stands in the episode immediately after the accident) rides a wheelchair down the stairs breaking his leg. This is complicated because Dick had already sprained his ankle in season two. (Most plots revolve around the characters learning about some aspect of life on Earth, like say getting injured.)

* One notable example of this came in ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine''. Creator/NanaVisitor (Major Kira) got pregnant with the child of co-star Creator/AlexanderSiddig (Dr. Bashir). To cover, the writers started a plotline about Keiko O'Brien's pregnancy, then created a shuttle accident that forced Bashir to transplant Keiko's baby into Kira's uterus. There was even a bit of LampshadeHanging on the subject -- in a later episode, an irate Kira tells Bashir that her situation is his fault.
* Another unusual ''Star Trek'' example: on ''Series/StarTrekVoyager,'' when Creator/RoxannDawson became pregnant, it was mostly camouflaged and her character B'Elanna Torres wasn't portrayed as pregnant. However, in the two-parter "The Killing Game," where the characters' memories are erased and they're forced to participate in a deadly World War II simulation, her character's ''character'' Brigitte is portrayed as pregnant.
* ''Series/StargateSG1'':
** Vaitiare Bandera, who played Sha're, Daniel's wife, in the first few seasons of the show, was heavily pregnant with Michael Shanks' child when it came time to bring the character back. The writers managed to turn the child into a huge plot point for the next couple of seasons.
** Creator/ClaudiaBlack (Vala Mal Doran) also got pregnant around the time of the end of the same season, but it was an unintentional subversion of the trope: they were already planning on a story that involved her getting pregnant so they were happy they wouldn't have to use special effects for it. The character's daughter is [[EnfanteTerrible very, very evil]]. However, she got pregnant with her second child just before filming began for the last SG-1 movie ''Continuum'', which the writers had ''not'' anticipated. They had to resort to things like having her wear an outsized camouflage jacket and carry a big sci-fi gun in her first scene, to having her sitting and with things obstructing the camera's view of her stomach in most of her other scenes. Since she was actually near the end of her second trimester, neither approach really worked and it's still very noticeable.

* In "Tight to Death", rapper Mack-10's duet with then-wife T-Boz from Music/{{TLC}}, her pregnancy is proudly emphasized in the OutlawCouple-themed music video.

* In ''Series/NorthernExposure'', Shelly's pregnancy and the birth of her daughter were written in because of Cynthia Geary's real-world pregnancy. (Hard to hide since, as in many examples on the page, Geary was conventionally small and skinny as a Hollywood actress and hence her pregnancy was extremely noticeable.)

* An in-universe example happens on ''Series/TheBradyBunch'' when Peter is cast as Benedict Arnold in a school play. He grows tired of his classmates jeering him for playing a traitor, so to get out of the play, he fakes a limp and tells the director that he injured his leg. Unfortunately for him, she's delighted to hear that, since Benedict Arnold had a limp in real life and thus it would fit in perfectly.

* On ''Series/MarriedWithChildren'', Creator/KateySagal, the actress who played Peggy, became pregnant, and the show's writers worked it into the storyline by making Peg pregnant, much to Al's chagrin since their two kids were young adults by that point. Most of the plot lines of the sixth season centered around the pregnancy, until Sagal's tragic miscarriage forced the producers to backtrack. The pregnancy was explained as being [[AllJustADream a dream Al had]]. The second time Sagal became pregnant, the writers had Peg return to Wanker County to try and reunite her divorced parents, and then set out to find her missing father. When Peg did appear, she was shown sitting in the backseat of a limousine or talking to her family on the phone, or other situations that filmed only the top half of Sagal's body. When Sagal was ready to return to work (thankfully, her pregnancy was successful this time), an entire episode was dedicated to Peg's return.
* Mary Kay Stearns, the female lead in the very first sitcom on U.S. broadcast TV, ''Series/MaryKayAndJohnny''. She became pregnant in 1948, and after trying (unsuccessfully) to hide it, the producers wrote her pregnancy into the show. In those more conservative times, it helped matters that "Johnny" was her husband both on-screen and in real life. When their son was born, he was written into the show as a character.

* The season 8 ''Series/{{CSINY}}'' episode "Crossroads" had Mac Taylor sitting down for most of his scenes. This is because Creator/GarySinise tore a muscle during filming shortly before.

* Mary Kay Stearns, the female lead in the very first sitcom on U.S. broadcast TV, ''Mary Kay and Johnny''. She became pregnant in 1948, and after trying (unsuccessfully) to hide it, the producers wrote her pregnancy into the show. In those more conservative times, it helped matters that "Johnny" was her husband both on-screen and in real life. When their son was born, he was written into the show as a character.

* One notable example of this came in ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine''. Creator/NanaVisitor (Major Kira) got pregnant with the child of co-star Creator/AlexanderSiddig (Dr. Bashir). To cover, the writers started a plotline about Keiko O'Brien's pregnancy, then created a shuttle accident that forced Bashir to transplant Keiko's baby into Kira's uterus. There was even a bit of LampshadeHanging on the subject -- in a later episode, an irate Kira tells Bashir that her situation is his fault.
* Another unusual ''Star Trek'' example: on ''Series/StarTrekVoyager,'' when Creator/RoxannDawson became pregnant, it was mostly camouflaged and her character B'Elanna Torres wasn't portrayed as pregnant. However, in the two-parter "The Killing Game," where the characters' memories are erased and they're forced to participate in a deadly World War II simulation, her character's ''character'' Brigitte is portrayed as pregnant.
* In ''Series/NorthernExposure'', Shelly's pregnancy and the birth of her daughter were written in because of Cynthia Geary's real-world pregnancy. (Hard to hide since, as in many examples on the page, Geary was conventionally small and skinny as a Hollywood actress and hence her pregnancy was extremely noticeable.)
* ''Series/StargateSG1'':
** Vaitiare Bandera, who played Sha're, Daniel's wife, in the first few seasons of the show, was heavily pregnant with Michael Shanks' child when it came time to bring the character back. The writers managed to turn the child into a huge plot point for the next couple of seasons.
** Creator/ClaudiaBlack (Vala Mal Doran) also got pregnant around the time of the end of the same season, but it was an unintentional subversion of the trope: they were already planning on a story that involved her getting pregnant so they were happy they wouldn't have to use special effects for it. The character's daughter is [[EnfanteTerrible very, very evil]]. However, she got pregnant with her second child just before filming began for the last SG-1 movie ''Continuum'', which the writers had ''not'' anticipated. They had to resort to things like having her wear an outsized camouflage jacket and carry a big sci-fi gun in her first scene, to having her sitting and with things obstructing the camera's view of her stomach in most of her other scenes. Since she was actually near the end of her second trimester, neither approach really worked and it's still very noticeable.
** In ''Series/StargateAtlantis'', Creator/RachelLuttrell (Teyla Emmagan) became pregnant too. This also got written into the plot and involved her character getting pregnant via her unseen boyfriend and then her later kidnapping by Michael, a Wraith that the Atlantis team made somewhat human against his will. After he was born, Michael kept trying to kidnap them, turning her into a woman in distress instead of her previous ActionGirl. [[spoiler:Until she [[DisneyVillainDeath kicked his sorry ass off of the central tower of Atlantis]] and earned her label back.]]
* On ''Series/MarriedWithChildren'', Creator/KateySagal, the actress who played Peggy, became pregnant, and the show's writers worked it into the storyline by making Peg pregnant, much to Al's chagrin since their two kids were young adults by that point. Most of the plot lines of the sixth season centered around the pregnancy, until Sagal's tragic miscarriage forced the producers to backtrack. The pregnancy was explained as being [[AllJustADream a dream Al had]]. The second time Sagal became pregnant, the writers had Peg return to Wanker County to try and reunite her divorced parents, and then set out to find her missing father. When Peg did appear, she was shown sitting in the backseat of a limousine or talking to her family on the phone, or other situations that filmed only the top half of Sagal's body. When Sagal was ready to return to work (thankfully, her pregnancy was successful this time), an entire episode was dedicated to Peg's return.

* Poppy Montgomery of ''Series/WithoutATrace'' was a trickier example than most since her character Sam not only was not in a relationship but was implied to be more or less MarriedToTheJob. The writers had Sam conceive from a one-night stand with a bartender, and for the last two seasons of the show, the plot was wrung for drama and ShipTease.
* In ''Series/TheOfficeUS'', Creator/JennaFischer's pregnancy was written into the eighth season for her character Pam. It wasn't a big deal since at that point she was already married with one child; she and Jim just decided to have another kid. Ironically, Angela becomes pregnant during the same season as well, but her actress, Angela Kinsey, wasn't actually pregnant in real life. This makes Angela's dig at how Pam's pregnancy is bigger than hers more hilarious, considering Kinsey was only using a prop pillow, while Fischer was already several months pregnant by the season premiere.
* When ''Series/{{Roseanne}}'' actress Creator/LaurieMetcalf became pregnant, it was originally going to be covered up. Jackie's clothes got looser and looser (which was a huge tip-off as she usually wore form-fitting outfits) and she always seemed to show up carrying something in front of her. However, as Metcalf progressed she got so big it couldn't be hidden any longer. Her pregnancy was written into the show about halfway through her real one.
* In ''Series/{{Jekyll}}'' Fenella Woolgar was cast as one half of a lesbian couple; however, by the time filming started she had a rather noticeable bump. She thought that she'd lose the role but it was no matter to the writers; they just worked it into the plot and it actually spawned quite a few endearing and funny bits. It was joked about on the commentary: 'You just can't cast lesbians these days!'
* When Kaitlin Olsen became pregnant, her character Dee from ''Series/ItsAlwaysSunnyInPhiladelphia'' also became pregnant. An entire episode was dedicated to the gang trying to find out who got her pregnant; by the end, they stop caring. It was later revealed that she was a surrogate for a UsefulNotes/{{Transgender}} woman and her husband.
* ''Series/{{Jeopardy}}!'' makes frequent use of the Clue Crew to deliver video clues in pertinent categories. One use that fit this trope was when Clue Crew member Sarah Whitcomb Foss had her real-life pregnancy worked into a video category on pregnancy that aired on September 18, 2013.

* While Creator/HaydenPanettiere played a pregnant Juliette Barnes on ''Series/{{Nashville}}'' at the same time as her real-life pregnancy, this could count as a subversion as [[http://www.celebuzz.com/2014-08-26/nashville-creator-callie-khouri-talks-season-3-premiere-hayden-panettiere-s-pregnancy/ the writers had already intended for Juliette to become pregnant.]]
** The writers had also intended for Juliette to have postpartum depression -- and depressingly, [[LifeImitatesArt in season four Hayden took leave from production to get treatment for that same ailment]].

* ''Series/SesameStreet'': When Sonia Manzano (Maria) became pregnant in 1987, it was not only written into the show but resulted in one of the show's landmark changes, Maria and Luis's marriage. Since an illegitimate pregnancy would hardly have been well received by the target audience's parents, the show-runners gave the two Fix-It Shop owners, who were previously {{Just Friends}}, a {{Relationship Upgrade}} to have Maria safely married before Manzano's pregnancy would start showing. Her pregnancy was then used to teach young viewers about birth, and eventually, her real daughter Gabriela became Maria and Luis's daughter [[TheDanza Gabi]], playing the role throughout the first years of her life until a professional child actress replaced her.
* While on the subject of Jaime Pressly, Season 2 of ''Series/MyNameIsEarl'' had a storyline where Joy became a surrogate for her estranged half-sister (as well as to get sympathy from the jury in her upcoming trial). This was written in to accommodate Pressly's real-life pregnancy.
* Creator/AngeliqueCabral became pregnant just before the third season of ''Series/LifeInPieces''. Fortunately, it was easy to write her out during her maternity leave since her character had been injured in a fall in the previous season's finale, so she spent the premiere in traction. Also, the very nature of the show [[note]] The episodes are divided into vignettes in which not all characters appear. [[/note]] made it easy to just not feature her during her maternity leave. On top of this, there was also a dream sequence in which her character was pregnant.

* ''Series/MidnightCaller'': Devon announces she is pregnant at the end of the second season after actress Wendy Kilbourne became pregnant.

* ''The Baby Formula'' took this to its logical extreme. The entire reason the movie exists is that two actress friends of the director became pregnant at the same time and the director commissioned the script to take advantage of this.

* Mary Kay Stearns, the female lead in the very first sitcom on U.S. broadcast TV, ''Mary Kay and Johnny''. She became pregnant in 1948, and after trying (unsuccessfully) to hide it, the producers wrote her pregnancy into the show. In those more conservative times, it helped matters that "Johnny" was her husband both on-screen and in real life. When their son was born, he was written into the show as a character.
* Creator/LucilleBall became pregnant during her time on ''Series/ILoveLucy''. Her pregnancy was written into the show, at the time considered a risky and controversial move, as they weren't even allowed to ''say'' the word "pregnant" on American TV in the 50s (notwithstanding the fact that ''Mary Kay and Johnny'' had gotten away with it only a few years earlier). Interesting fact: that show popularized the use of the euphemism "expecting,"[[note]]Even to this day, "expecting" is often used for the father who's not carrying the baby himself[[/note]] and the episode in which Lucy gives birth broke the record for viewership up to that point.
* Phoebe in ''Series/{{Friends}}'' chose to become a surrogate mother for her little brother because Creator/LisaKudrow became pregnant. This worked well when Kudrow was unable to fly to London where the season finale was being shot; this also the reason why Phoebe was forced to stay behind in New York.
* One notable example of this came in ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine''. Creator/NanaVisitor (Major Kira) got pregnant with the child of co-star Creator/AlexanderSiddig (Dr. Bashir). To cover, the writers started a plotline about Keiko O'Brien's pregnancy, then created a shuttle accident that forced Bashir to transplant Keiko's baby into Kira's uterus. There was even a bit of LampshadeHanging on the subject -- in a later episode, an irate Kira tells Bashir that her situation is his fault.
* Another unusual ''Star Trek'' example: on ''Series/StarTrekVoyager,'' when Creator/RoxannDawson became pregnant, it was mostly camouflaged and her character B'Elanna Torres wasn't portrayed as pregnant. However, in the two-parter "The Killing Game," where the characters' memories are erased and they're forced to participate in a deadly World War II simulation, her character's ''character'' Brigitte is portrayed as pregnant.
* In ''Series/NorthernExposure'', Shelly's pregnancy and the birth of her daughter were written in because of Cynthia Geary's real-world pregnancy. (Hard to hide since, as in many examples on the page, Geary was conventionally small and skinny as a Hollywood actress and hence her pregnancy was extremely noticeable.)
* On ''Series/{{Frasier}}'', Creator/JaneLeeves' first pregnancy (in 2000) could not be worked into the plot, as it happened at the very beginning of her long-awaited relationship with Niles. Instead, the writers created a plot about her gaining weight uncontrollably and taking a sabbatical at a health retreat to combat the problem.[[note]]Much like the ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'', this was given a major lampshade hanging -- the day Leeves gave birth, the cast was filming at the NBC lot. The writers wrote into the script a call from Daphne to Niles, with him announcing that her stay at the fat camp was paying off -- she'd already lost 9 pounds 3 ounces (or something, whatever it was, it was a code to the audience about the baby having been born)[[/note]] Her second pregnancy (in 2003) was however written into the plot, as her character Daphne gave birth in the GrandFinale.
* Creator/MeredithBaxter's pregnancy was written into ''Series/FamilyTies'' but she still had to take several episodes off. The excuse provided for Elyse's mysterious absence was her doctor had ordered her to stay off her feet. The producers tried several approaches for distracting viewers from her absence, including bringing on [[http://www.agonybooth.com/agonizer/Family_Ties/Help_Wanted.aspx Geena Davis]] for a two-episode run.

* When Creator/JenniferGarner got pregnant, her character on ''Series/{{Alias}}'' did the same, with the result that Sydney's action scenes had to be cut considerably.

* On ''Series/TheFreshPrinceOfBelAir'', this resulted in Janet Hubert-Whitten being fired as Aunt Vivian, as her real-life pregnancy was a violation of her contract. She stayed until the end of Season 3 though, and her pregnancy was incorporated into the storyline. Afterward, the character was recast with Daphne Maxwell Reid.

* Grayza's outrageously massive (and tattoo-decorated) pregnancy in the ''Series/{{Farscape}}'' WrapItUp "The Peacekeeper Wars" was because Rebecca Riggs had decided to have a career break and a child when the show was canceled. Considering that her character had raped the hero in the previous season, this led to much WildMassGuessing about the in-canon paternity of the offspring...
* Emily Deschanel of ''Series/{{Bones}}'' became pregnant during the production of the sixth season. The pregnancy was written into the end of the season as the result of a one-night stand between Booth and Brennan, answering the ongoing WillTheyOrWontThey. Deschanel was visibly pregnant for the early part of the seventh season and it played a significant role in the personal storylines for the season.
** And when she became pregnant again during production of season ten, [[http://tvline.com/2014/12/10/bones-brennan-pregnant-again-season-10-emily-deschanel-pregnancy/ it was written into the show again]].

* On ''Series/GoodLuckCharlie'', Leigh-Allyn Baker's pregnancy was written into the storyline by having her character Amy have her fifth child, which causes problems in the family because they are only just getting back to normal after having a fourth unplanned child.

* Zoe Hart (''Series/HartOfDixie'') became with child in the 2014-2015 season as a result of Creator/RachelBilson being pregnant for reals.

* ''Series/{{Cheers}}'':
** Rhea Perlman became pregnant three times during the show's run. Each time, her character Carla became pregnant as well.
** The tenth season subplot where Sam and Rebecca attempt to conceive a baby together was intended to work Creator/KirstieAlley's pregnancy into the series. Sadly, Alley miscarried and the subplot was wrapped up with Sam and Rebecca deciding they weren't ready to be parents.

* In ''Series/CriminalMinds'' A.J Cook got pregnant and it was written into the show, with her real-life son playing her on-screen son Henry. When she became pregnant again and Jennifer Love Hewitt was also pregnant, both were written in, though Jennifer left the show because of it.
* Although Creator/KristenBell's first pregnancy wasn't written into ''Series/HouseOfLies'', her second one was.
* The third season of ''Series/TheBlacklist'' saw star Megan Boone become pregnant; and her character of Elizabeth Keen became pregnant as well. A lot of early drama was whether or not she would give the baby up for adoption.
* During the fourth season of ''Series/{{Grimm}}'', actress Creator/ClaireCoffee (Adelind Schade) became pregnant with her first child. This was particularly amusing because her character, Adelind, had just finished a pregnancy arc. The writers decided to write the pregnancy in, leading the characters to exclaim an exasperated "Again?!" when Adelind reveals her pregnancy.
* ''Series/DCIBanks'': In the second season, DS Annie Cabot becomes pregnant following a one-night stand and goes on maternity leave as a result of actress Andrea Lowe becoming pregnant.
* Creator/JaneSeymourActress's pregnancy resulted in Series/DrQuinnMedicineWoman becoming pregnant as well (though with only one baby rather than the twins she had in RealLife). Perfect timing, as she and beau Sully had just married.
* The RealLife pregnancies of several Series/{{ER}} actresses -- Ming-Na Wen, Creator/AlexKingston, Sherry Stringfield -- resulted in their characters being pregnant too.

* Creator/MelissaRauch became pregnant just before production of ''Series/TheBigBangTheory's'' eleventh season began, with the result being her character becoming pregnant as well. Like Claire Coffee on ''Series/{{Grimm}}'', her character had just had a baby the previous season, and the season premiere has her and her husband worrying about having to care for two children.

* In season 5 of ''Series/{{The 100}}'', actress Ivana Milenkovic (Diyoza) learned she was pregnant shortly after being cast as one of the season's antagonists, and rather than recast, they wrote it into her character.
* Occurs in ''Series/GeneralHospital'' when actress Lynn Herring got pregnant. Like her character, Lucy Coe was single, it was written that she would be the surrogate mother for ex-lover Scott and his dying (of cancer) wife Dominique. Since then, other GH actresses have had their pregnancies written into the story, with actress Sofia Mattson's pregnancy in 2021, being the most recent example.
* ''{{Series/Charmed 1998}}'' - Creator/HollyMarieCombs was pregnant during Season 6, which was quite amusing as Piper had been pregnant the previous season. There was a long-standing rumor that Chris was going to be revealed as Phoebe's KidFromTheFuture when real life made him Piper's; However, WordOfGod said that it was already the plan and Holly's pregnancy was "convenient timing".
* Anna Belknap of ''{{Series/CSI NY}}'' had her first pregnancy hidden, with the storyline of Lindsay going to visit her family in Montana being used when she took off to have the baby. The second pregnancy, in season 5, was written in and led to Lindsay and Danny getting married.
* Lisa Lackey on ''Series/{{Heroes}}'' got pregnant during filming of the first season. The first person she told was Creator/GregGrunberg to ask him for advice because he'd worked with actresses who got pregnant during filming before and she was worried that the producers would freak out. So he ended up making a call to the writers' room on her behalf...at the exact moment when the writers, brainstorming a storyline for their onscreen relationship, had come up with the idea for her character to be pregnant.

* In "Tight to Death", rapper Mack-10's duet with then-wife T-Boz from Music/{{TLC}}, her pregnancy is proudly emphasized in the OutlawCouple-themed music video.
* Music/WhitneyHouston proudly showed off her pregnant belly in "I'm Every Woman", since the song and video are a celebration of womanhood. Her previous video, "I Will Always Love You", hid her stomach by only filming her from the chest up, but with "I'm Every Woman" she was much further along, so they couldn't hide it even if they wanted to.
* "Someday" by Music/BritneySpears is basically a music video to celebrate her pregnancy.
* In the Music/DixieChicks' video for "Landslide", Emily Robison was clearly pregnant and not hiding it during the video shoot.

** Averted with Roz's pregnancy in Season 5, which was written solely for the show - Creator/PeriGilpin, in real life, actually had so much trouble concieving that she had to use a surrogate mother.

* ''Series/CriminalMinds'': Episodes in the 5th season had to be modified because two of the main actors -- Shemar Moore (who plays Derek Morgan) and Matthew Gray Gubler (who plays Spencer Reid) -- both suffered significant leg injuries. There was a temporary but noticeable absence of the usual Derek-in-action shots (e.g., kicking down doors, tackling suspects), while the 5th season premiere had Reid get shot in order to explain away his crutches or noticeable limp for most of the season's episodes.

* Creator/SantiagoSegura's José Luis Torrente character was created as a fat, sleazy ex-cop in 1998. In TheNoughties Segura started losing weight because of health concerns, so in the fourth movie (2011) Torrente went to prison, and in the fifth (2014) he was released with a much leaner physique.

* This trope was parodied in ''Film/StuckOnYou'', where a conjoined twin wants to be an actor but his brother has stage fright. The film then shows executives trying to work around this, first by incorporating him into the environment, then by putting him in a BlueScreen suit.

* Creator/JoseFerrer has a cast on his right hand in ''Film/TheCaineMutiny,'' from a real-life injury, which is only referenced in the film when his character is forced to shake hands left-handed.

* Creator/SantiagoSegura's José Luis Torrente character was created as a fat, sleazy ex-cop in 1998. In TheNoughties Segura started losing weight because of health concerns, so in the fourth movie (2011) Torrente went to jail, and in the fifth (2014) he was released from prison with a much leaner physique.