Star Wars actress Carrie Fisher has commented on the pressure to lose weight for the new movie, adding that Hollywood’s obsession with appearance is “insane”.

The actress, 59, will be seen again in her famous role as Princess Leia in Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens this month, some 38 years after she first appeared as the character.

Talking to the January edition of Good Housekeeping magazine, she spoke about having to lose 35 pounds for the movie. She said: “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.”

The actress said she shed the pounds through more exercise and eating less.

“There is no other way to do it. 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.”