John Candy's son, Chris Candy, has revealed the "heart-wrenching" consequences his dad endured due to constant questions about his weight at the height of his fame. The late actor was often quizzed about his larger size in interviews, something Chris admitted "shocked" him when he watched Colin Hanks' documentary film, John Candy: I Like Me. The Uncle Buck star faced so much scrutiny because of his weight that he developed disordered eating patterns after he became fearful of eating in front of people.
"I was kind of shocked to see how interviewers treat him," the 41-year-old said at a special screening of the film alongside director Colin, producer Ryan Reynolds, and Hugh Jackman, when asked by Hugh to name "one piece of the puzzle" of his dad's life that was answered in the documentary. "That was just kind of heart-wrenching. And I also could see how he got more frustrated, and he found ways to deal with that."
Chris continued. "I learned through the process of this that he was so nervous about eating in front of people because of paparazzi. He developed a poor eating habit where he'd be like, 'Alright, well I'm not going to eat all day. I'm going to eat at night.' When I hear stories like that, I just felt so bad for him because it's like, 'How cornered are you?'
"And you really want in those moments, as his son or as his friend, to be able to grab him by his shoulders and say, 'Why the [expletive] do you have to do this? Just who cares? Have a sandwich and get mad about it.'" John died aged 43 on March 4, 1994, of a heart attack. He was filming what would become his final movie, Wagons East, in Durango, Mexico, at the time.
John was found by his bodyguard after he let himself into the actor's room after being unable to reach him on the phone. He called a doctor, who pronounced John dead from a massive heart attack in his sleep. When asked how he thinks his dad would have reacted to the documentary, Chris told People: "I think he would be uncomfortable, but this is a guy that didn't like to go to his own movie premieres."
Chris added: "I would hope, though, the John Candy of 2025, he would've worked on himself enough to be okay with himself, and then I know that he did love himself. But yeah, I think in that early phase, he probably would've felt a bit uncomfortable about the whole thing nowadays."
John Candy: I Like Me is a documentary film that explores the life and legacy of the iconic Canadian comic actor. It premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 4, 2025, and debuted on Amazon Prime Video on October 10, 2025. The documentary features testimonials and remembrances from many of John's loved ones who knew him best, including his family, friends, and A-listers such as Steve Martin, Martin Short, Macaulay Culkin, Dan Aykroyd, Catherine O'Hara, Andrea Martin, Bill Murray, and Tom Hanks.