“There’s absolutely no way to overcome the shallowness of this piece,” Penn Badgley stated regarding his experience as an actor.
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Penn Badgley states that he experienced body dysmorphia during his upbringing.
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He mentioned that working as an actor increased the pressure he felt about his looks.
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At one juncture, Badgley thought about abandoning his acting journey, however, he managed to “push through” owing to his spiritual beliefs.
Penn Badgley
shared that he grappled with body dysmorphia during his youth.
The
You
star, 38, spoke to
The Guardian
He mentioned that even though he didn’t have an official diagnosis from a doctor or psychologist, he struggled with accepting how he looked when he was young.
“I shared that I despised my physique and just desired a completely different one,” he stated to the publication.
Body dysmorphia is a mental health condition where an individual continuously focuses on a supposed imperfection or flaw in their looks, as stated by
the Mayo Clinic
The condition may lead to feelings of worry and unease, complicating one’s ability to interact socially and manage everyday activities.
Badgley acknowledged that in reaction to his parents’ divorce and feelings of social isolation, he began to overeat and gained some weight. During this period, he looked up to the male actors in films, believing he ought to have their appearance.
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Nevertheless, pursuing a career as an actor introduced additional stresses.
There was simply a time when, after emerging from depression and isolation, I deliberately dove headfirst into—and simultaneously found myself pushed into—a world where the more conventionally attractive I appeared, the greater my success could potentially be and the higher my perceived worth,” he explained. “It’s impossible to overlook the shallowness inherent in such pursuits, and once you acknowledge this, you inevitably see through the surface-level nature of our society due to how it values these outward appearances.
This was highly evident in his part as Dan Humphrey on
Gossip Girl
.
What was that show beyond just being visually appealing? That was its signature—the way each of us appeared,” he observed. “I wasn’t particularly fond of how my superficial celebrity status influenced people’s perception of me.
Badgley told the outlet that at one point, he considered leaving acting, but was able to get through his struggles with his appearance through his spirituality.
“That enabled me to push through the disappointment, tackle all the issues I was dealing with, and return to everything with, ideally, an internal change,” he clarified.
Related:
Penn Badgley, Domino Kirké ‘Shocked’ to Discover They’re Having Twins: ‘Twist of Fate!’
Besides his daily practices of prayer and meditation, the actor mentioned that he finds support in “the basic elements of life, such as being with family and nurturing significant friendships.”
Should you or anyone you’re aware of require assistance with mental health, send “STRENGTH” via text to the Crisis Text Line at 741-741 to get linked with a certified crisis counselor.
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