Actress Renee Zellweger
The actress might loose her iconic role of Bridget Jones to Reese Witherspoon. REUTERS/Mike Segar

Renee Zellweger's future in Bridget Jones' Diary is hanging by a thread since the makers of the movie are considering of dropping her for the next sequel. The makers are claiming the star does not look like the character of Bridget Jones anymore due to her recent dramatically altered looks.

The celebrated role might be given to Reese Witherspoon. According to Daily Star, she is the favourite choice of producers who are willing to spend £20 million to sign her for the movie. As for Witherspoon, reports say is not so excited about this offer as she is reluctant to gain weight and look plump to play the iconic role. However, Bridget Jones producers have yet to confirm this rumoured cast replacement.

Zellweger made the news during an appearance at 2014 Elle Women In Hollywood Awards in Beverly Hills on Oct. 20, where she looked completely different. Despite not having confirmed anything officially, experts are claiming the star had gone under the knife to make her eye lids look less heavy and had fat removed from her cheeks.

Expert of Scandinavian culture Prof. Edward Dutton claimed the actress has intentionally altered her appearance to look a lot like mainstream Europeans as she wanted to shed off her old image of a plump Norwegian girl. This led to criticisms on the decision of the 45-year-old actress for intentionally changing her trademark squinty eyed look, which is a common trait of people from northern Norway.

US Weekly claimed the actress has undertaken these efforts to look different and to grab more roles in Hollywood movies. The star of "Jerry Maguire" recently experienced a dry patch in her career as her last movie to find success at box office was the third instalment of the "Bridget Jones" franchise, which was released way back in 2004.

Some of her movies released afterwards, such as "Miss Potter," "Appaloosa," "Case 39" and "My Own Love Song," failed to attract any attention. Her next project "The Whole Truth," in which she stars alongside Keanu Reeves and James Belushi, is almost ready to release.