To be treated like that as a child and made to feel there’s something intrinsically wrong with you … it’s so painful, and it stays with you.
Even now, if you asked me what I looked like as a child, I would automatically reel off the things I was bullied about: big ears, skinny legs, hair that would never go spiky or lie in curtains like the other boys’.
I felt inadequate physically, and that feeling grew with me into adulthood.You might imagine that becoming famous would have helped, and I do have brief moments when I think: my God, people actually think I’m handsome?!
But it’s all so separate from my daily reality, and that voice inside my head – the one telling me I should look younger, have better muscle formation or smoother skin – often drowns out any compliments I might be lucky enough to receive.