'Porky' Mel Gibson told he didn't need to put on extra weight for Santa role in 'Fatman'

Watch: Fatman trailer

Mel Gibson has said that the makers of the movie Fatman told him he was already large enough for the role, and that he shouldn't start laying into the pies.

The movie, penned and directed by Eshom and Ian Nelms, finds the Braveheart actor playing Chris Cringle in a violent, tongue-in-cheek festive actioner.

And while the Nelms brothers required a man of a certain carriage, they told Gibson that he'd be 'perfect' as he was.

Read more: Elf tops poll of overrated Christmas movies

The 64-year-old told The Sun: “I am reasonably porky. I said to the boys, ‘Hey should I eat more ice cream and cookies?’

“But they said, ‘No you are perfect. Leave it like that. Just because we call it Fatman does not mean you have to be obese’. Believe me, I have the post 50 years of age insulin gut. Don’t worry — I am carrying.”

In the film, a spoilt rich child hires a hitman, played by Walton Goggins, to take out Santa after he receives a lump of coal for being bad.

Gibson went on: “For me, it was taking an iconic character and examining the reality of who that guy might really be if he had the rest of the problems the most of the world has. Like if he has a mortgage to pay, if he’s got a sore back, if he’s fighting with his wife. It examines the humanity of who Santa might be without the big fantasy legend.”

Read more: Mind-blowing facts about famous Christmas movies

Reviews for the movie, which is streaming on Amazon Prime, have been a mixed bag.

The Hollywood Reporter said it was 'less gonzo than it sounds, for better and worse', though Indiewire mused: “Combining the crude spirit of Bad Santa with the grittiness of a Zack Snyder film, Fatman is worse than a lump of coal in your stocking.”

Watch: Lethal Weapon 5 is on the way