Natalie Dormer was badly bullied at school.
Natalie Dormer
The 'Game of Thrones' actress has admitted that her teenage years do not hold happy memories because of the abuse she received from "mean girls" at her school.
She told YOU Magazine: "I wouldn't go back to my teenage years for love nor money. You know the girls who everybody thinks they want to be - the ones who are dating the sexy boys, like the captain of the football team? I was nowhere near them. I was never an alpha girl and those girls terrified me...they still do."
Natalie says she was "profoundly bullied" by girls who did their best to undermine her.
She said the attacks came via "meanness, name-calling, having the things I cared about undermined as worthless or pretentious" and added, "The true cleverness of psychological bullying is that if you are asked to describe to a teacher what someone has actually said or done, it looks like nothing at all."
Natalie, 36, also revealed she had no confidence during her teenage years and did not become comfortable with herself until she was in her 20s.
She said: "I was incredibly geeky and had no sense of style. I came out of my shell a bit when I was doing my A-levels and found drama, but I really didn't get into my stride until I was pushing my late 20s."
However, she now understands that bullies only pick on others because they are so insecure.
She explained: "Deep down, bullies are the most insecure people; their problems always lie within themselves. That's what I was told when I was bullied at school and I never really understood it until I was an adult because it was so hard for me."
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