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Carrie Fisher pressured to drop 35 pounds for "The Force Awakens"

Carrie Fisher says she was asked to lose 35 pounds before appearing in the upcoming "Star Wars" film.

In a new interview with U.K. Good Housekeeping, the 59-year-old actress revealed that she was pressured to drop the weight: 'They don't want to hire all of me -- only about three-quarters! Nothing changes, it's an appearance-driven thing. I'm in a business where the only thing that matters is weight and appearance. That is so messed up. They might as well say get younger, because that's how easy it is.'"

Fisher ended up shedding the pounds, she says, the "same way everybody has to -- don't eat and exercise more!"

Fisher continued, "I have a harder time eating properly than I do exercising. It's easier for me to add an activity than to deny myself something. When I do lose the weight I don't like that it makes me feel good about myself. It's not who I am. My problem is they talk to me like an actress but I hear them like a writer."

Fisher is among the original "Star Wars" actors returning for "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" (due Dec. 18), directed by J. J. Abrams. She's reprising her role as Leia, but won't be going by Princess Leia, apparently.

Fisher graces the January 2016 U.K. cover of Good Housekeeping. Go here for more from her interview.

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