Burt Reynolds Was ‘Obsessed’ With Looking Taller Despite Being 6 Feet

It seems Burt Reynolds wanted to everything he could to make sure he was head and shoulders above his rivals in Hollywood.

And actress Lesley-Anne Down, who starred with Reynolds in 1980 heist movie Rough Cut, has told how he would use secret steps so he could do look taller.

“I remember going for a walk, because we were in London when we were doing that film,” Down, 72, said while speaking to Entertainment Weekly on Sunday, September 20. “I said, ‘Don’t put those on’. I said, ‘No! Your feet will hurt so badly’.”

Down was referring to boots Reynolds had with special heels and insoles to help raise his height a few more inches.

She said on this rare occasion he relented and changed his shoes.

“It was the first time I think I’d ever seen him and gone out and walked around or whatever when he was like normal height,” Down added. “He wasn’t a short man, but he wanted that extra, I guess, four inches or so.”

Reynolds, known for films like Smokey and the Bandit, Deliverance and The Dukes of Hazzard is listed on IMDb as being six feet tall and was never considered short, but Down said his height was one of three things he was obsessed with before his death in 2018.

“Burt was just absolutely obsessed with three things: top, bottom, and middle,” she explained. “He was absolutely obsessed with all those weaves that he had in his head, and he was obsessed with the things that he put in his shoes to make him taller, and he was obsessed with his crotch.”