Jonah Hill is thankful he's been given the freedom to "blossom".
Jonah Hill
The 34-year-old actor - who has made his directorial debut with 'Mid90s' - is grateful to his friends and family for allowing him to openly discuss his own vulnerabilities.
He explained: "As I've grown up as a human being, and have had the emotional maturity and confidence to become a filmmaker, [I've reflected on] how I learned to communicate as a man and why that was problematic.
"I was taught and maybe culturally we were taught at that time, if you're a man and you express your feelings or you express that something hurts you, then you should be made fun of. And that kind of repression leads to anger, and anger leads to bad behaviour."
Jonah's directorial debut tells the story of a group of teenage skateboarders in 90s-era Los Angeles.
And the Hollywood star has explained how 'Mid90s' explores the idea of toxic masculinity.
He told NPR: "I think I wanted to show a film about young men with an inability to express themselves. And in my life, it's been a real joy being able to blossom and to feel free and comfortable in my own skin enough to express myself."
The 'Wolf of Wall Street' actor thinks he's taken a series of risks with his new movie, but he relished the challenge.
He said: "[I did] all the things they say you're not supposed to do: work with kids, work with first-time actors, take on a subculture that hates being talked about, mentioned or represented.
"So for me there's something about me that draws me to things that are difficult and maybe I'm uncomfortable with comfort and I think my acting career says that when I really dissect it, as well."
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