Topics: Celebrity, Hollywood, Mental Health, Health, Beauty
Warning: this article discusses body dysmorphia which some readers may find distressing.
Sam Claflin has shared how he struggles with his self image after working in Hollywood for the past 15 years - even developing 'body dysmorphia' as a result of the appearance-obsessed industry.
The theatre-trained British actor first broke onto the Hollywood scene in the fourth instalment of the blockbuster Pirates of the Caribbean series, On Stranger Tides, and even in this breakthrough role experienced something he would feel throughout his career.
Claflin opened up about the deeply personal issue while speaking to BBC DJ Fearne Cotton on her Happy Place podcast, where he shared his insecurities on set and how the industry takes actors' bodily autonomy for granted.
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He told Cotton: “A lot of the roles I played earlier on in my career… I had a topless scene in one of my first movies, but it wasn’t in the script and I got told a week before they were going to [take] my top off.”
Claflin shared how this expectation of constant physical perfection made him feel, saying: “I was like, ‘Shit, I haven’t been working out, what am I going to do?’ This is my first introduction to the world.”
The actor, who also starred in three Hunger Games films, shared in the same interview how he could barely stand to see his own face on screen due to his latent dysmorphia. He also told Cotton: “I’m incredibly insecure.
"I just went to a screening of a film I was in and everyone immediately afterwards [asked], ‘How was it?’ And [I was like,] ‘I hated it'. It’s my face I don’t like [it]’. When I was cast in ‘Pirates,’ I thought: ‘What on earth am I doing here?'”
Variety reports that this is not the first time Claflin has mentioned how Hollywood expectations had ruined his self image. He previously described: “There’s this Hollywood assumption that it’s the men with the six packs who sell the movie. So there was a pressure that was what I needed to look like."
Claflin added: "As a result, I developed a form of body dysmorphia. It wasn’t quite an eating disorder, and I’m not blaming anyone but myself, but it was definitely because of the industry I’m in.”
He explained the depths of this difficulty in an intense moment of honesty on Cotton's podcast, saying: “I’ve been massively affected [by body dysmorphia]. I’d say most guys are, but I would say mine got quite bad…
"It’s a real struggle. It’s like an everyday struggle. I am massively impacted by what other people think and if they think I look good or am a nice person.”
His deep sincerity about the difficulties of masculinity saw many viewers share how social expectations also impacted their self image, with one even remarking that 'hearing that Sam Claflin has body dysmorphia might just be the cure for body dysmorphia'.
Others were won over by his straightforward honesty. One viewer said: "Wow, I think I just fell in love with this man and his brutal vulnerability.
"So emotionally intelligent and aware. didn't expect this interview at all, but I'm a fan for life. total walking green flag. I hope he finds the healing he deserves."
