Nicholas Hoult felt "a little anxiety" being a child actor.
Nicholas Hoult
The 'About A Boy' star heard all the "horror stories" about joining the industry at a young age and whilst he admits it left him feeling slightly anxious, he insists it was a good thing in the end.
He said: "Maybe it’s because the failure is more public, in terms of child actors, and everyone knows about the horror stories. For me, growing up, it was hard to have people say, 'Oh, you’re a child actor, you know what that could potentially do to you?’ It does give you a little anxiety. But it’s also probably good to be aware of that. And there are certain things you can do to improve your chances of being lucky."
And the 31-year-old actor has a great way to cope with rejection or failure.
He added: "It’s not them saying, you weren’t a good enough actor; it’s them saying, we preferred this person, because they looked more like how we’d imagined the character. But it’s weird, to have people know that you go for things and sometimes don’t get them."
Nicholas went back to normal school after completing a short stint at an acting and singing school, but he feels the lack of "formalised training" actually had a huge benefit for him.
Speaking about his school days, he told The Guardian newspaper: "It wasn’t that formalised training wouldn’t work. But at the same time, some of the best actors I’ve worked with are very instinctive and, for me, the more fun I’m having, the more playful I am, the more I feel I’m probably in the right zone."
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