James Norton spent his school years feeling "unattractive and disempowered".
James Norton
The 35-year-old actor attended a Catholic boarding school during his younger years, and he admits that his current fame and success is a world away from the bullying he faced as a child.
He shared: "I was the kid at the all-boys boarding school who was bullied, whose younger years were definitely spent at the bottom of the pile feeling unattractive and disempowered."
By contrast, the 'Grantchester' star now has a pin-up status among fans, and he admits that, at times, he struggles to believe how far he's come in life.
He told Man About Town magazine "When people credit me with having 'a pin-up pout' now, it doesn’t mean anything because my bones are not that.
"But I do have moments when I’m being shot by a great photographer, wearing great clothes, when the little unattractive bullied kid in me is laughing his f****** head off!"
James also insisted that his pin-up status is nothing to do with himself.
He added: "As soon as people deem you a pin-up they expect you to have this extra special power, to walk into every room powerfully, but you don’t."
In recent years, James has even been tipped as a potential replacement for Daniel Craig as James Bond.
And the actor concedes that the idea is both "ridiculous and great".
He explained: "For that younger version of me inside of me, it’s fun and flattering and ridiculous and great."
Despite this, the 'Little Women' star observed that his fame and success is dwarfed by some of the leading lights in the industry.
He reflected: "You’ve got Leonardo DiCaprio at one end and a jobbing actor at the other - which I was - and there are various iterations of fame between. I’m somewhere in the middle."
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