Richard Armitage suffered years of torment at the hands of "violent" bullies who picked on him for being gay.
Richard Armitage spent years being tormented by school bullies
'The Hobbit' star has opened up about the agony of his early years revealing he suffered physical and verbal abuse throughout his time at school and he used to dread going in for lessons because he'd have to face his tormentors every day.
He told The Times newspaper: "It was physical, violent and verbal. I was very much aware of the hierarchy in school, the idea of the top dog and the minions below. I was considered very much at the bottom of the heap."
Richard, 52, compared the experience to William Golding's novel 'Lord of the Flies' and admitted he wanted his dad to confront the bullies but he never did.
However, it taught the actor to fight his own battles and gave him the motivation to succeed in life, but he is still haunted by memories of the bullying.
He explained: "I think the worst part of it is you learn really early in your life that you’re worth less than the s*** on somebody’s shoe because someone told you that. And you are unlearning that throughout the rest of your life - it’s still an ongoing process.
"As time passes, the trauma starts to feel like a distant echo. However, I think the challenge for me is when I see or experience bullying or gaslighting in adult life, either in the workplace or in social settings.
"That’s when that distant bell rings and I am 14 years old again and my face grows hot at the injustice. Kids can be very cruel but perhaps they don’t know any better. When we behave like this as adults, I find it very hard to reconcile."
He went on to reveal he believes the school bullies targeted him over his sexuality, adding: "They probably knew [I am gay] before I did, which I think is also quite sad.
"I do remember having a conversation with my mum: ‘Mum, they’re saying this word about me.’ And she said, ‘Oh, that’s not you. You’re a big strong boy. That’s not who you are'."
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