Slimmed down Timothy Spall has lost a few stone since he last played Black Country builder Barry in Auf Wiedersehen, Pet.
The actor has shed the pounds since 2014, when he vowed to change his lifestyle by eating healthier and cutting alcohol.
The 62-year-old - who became a household name after starring as one of Auf Wiedersehen, Pet's non-Geordie builders in the 1980s - says his new figure has opened doors for him as an actor.
Timothy is currently promoting Mrs Lowry & Son, in which he stars as industrial artist LS Lowry.
In an interview with Radio Times, Timothy said: "I wanted to change my lifestyle and lose weight and it’s done what I’d always hoped it might.
"As a character actor, it’s put me in a position where I’m not hobbled by being a certain shape."
He added: "I’m no longer that avuncular round bloke. It does feel liberating on many levels."
Timothy's new film chronicles the relationship between LS Lowry and his mother, who wanted the then aspiring artist to give up on his painting dream.
"I knew zero about this relationship," Timothy told Press Association. "I didn't know anything, that is why I was so intrigued by the script when I read it.
"I thought it was a remarkable tale and when I read it, it almost instantly started to make sense - the paintings started to make sense - and I could see all of a sudden where they all come from."
"The work is is far, far deeper and far more profound than I realised and, I think, than a lot of people give it credit for."
Mrs Lowry & Son will be released in UK cinemas on August 30.
