What we know about most male celebs today is that they’re smart, good-looking, charming…did we mention they’re good-looking???
But that wasn’t always the case growing up. For some male celebs, they didn’t breeze through school — they were bullied during it instead.
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TW: This article contains depictions or discussions of bullying and may be triggering to some readers.
1. Dwayne Johnson
Going through puberty too early caused trouble for the Jumanji actor.
“By the age of 16, I managed to change 4 high schools in different states.”
“And I was 6’4’’ and weighed 225 lbs, and looked like a mutant.”
“Some classmates even thought that I was an undercover cop.”
That would have definitely been a plot twist!
2. Zac Efron
Turns out, Zac wasn’t too far off from his High School Musicial character — minus the popularity.
“I wasn’t a heartthrob at school; I was a geek. I was into musical theater, which isn’t perceived as the coolest thing,” he told The Mail on Sunday .
“There were guys who were 6ft 1in with beards and big muscles and I was a gawky 17-year-old, a skinny, awkward kid. I was a late bloomer […] Growing up was hell.”
That’s clearly all changed as the actor is a dreamboat who has a way with the ladies.
3. Justin Timberlake
Despite being on TV with The Mickey Mouse Club as a kid, his peers weren’t impressed.
“At school, I was constantly teased and called weird, different, and a couple of other words that I can’t say on TV,” he once confessed on stage.
4. Liam Hemsworth
Missing the athletic gene made the Aussie actor super unpopular in school.
“Most of the children played football at school and they were cool and strong.”
And like so many high school stereotypes, the jocks were mean to the guy who wasn’t athletic.
“I got bullied as a kid because I didn’t actually play football when I was in primary school or grade school and all the other kids that did [play] football — you got bullied by them because they were the cool kids, the strong kids,” he said .
5. Shawn Mendes
The singer got discovered via Vine and YouTube, but when he first started uploading videos, he got made fun of.
“When I was in the 9th grade, I posted one of my first videos on YouTube,” he shared on Instagram.
“The day after, I was walking down the hall at school and guys started yelling out: ‘Sing for me, Shawn, sing for me!’ In a way that made me feel like what I was doing was just stupid and wrong.”
Aww, poor Shawn!
At least those bullies can eat their words now.
6. Ryan Gosling
The actor hated being a kid because he was bullied and had no friends in school.
Aww, Ryan!
Thankfully, he did have one pal : his Micky Mouse Club co-star, Justin Timberlake! They even lived together!
7. Tom Cruise
Since Tom’s family moved around a lot when he was a kid, he had trouble making friends.
“So many times the big bully comes up, pushes me. Your heart’s pounding, you sweat, and you feel like you’re going to vomit,” he recalled to Parade . “I don’t like bullies.”
8. Mark Ruffalo
The actor revealed that he was bullied when he offered encouraging advice to a kid who was also bullied.
9. George Clooney
He’s been called the Sexiest Man Alive by People (and the rest of the female population), but as a kid, he was bullied for his Bell’s palsy.
“That was the worst time of my life. You know how cruel kids can be.”
Thankfully, Clooney came out of the other side a stronger person.
“I was mocked and taunted, but the experience made me stronger,” he said .
10. Henry Cavill
Imagining Henry Cavill AKA Superman as “fat” is just too hard to believe.
But Henry Cavill was bullied and kids called him “Fat Cavill” as he was growing up.
“Although I really was fat, it was cruel to call me like that. But children tend to be cruel,” he said in an interview.
He was also called a ” quitter ” because he struggled to talk to girls, but thankfully his muscles and wicked six-pack abs do all the talking now.
11. Ryan Reynolds
He could get any girl he wants now, but back in high school, the charmer struggled to talk to girls.
“It took me a while to learn how to talk to girls. Up until I was like, 18, I looked like a Vietnamese girl,” he said on Conan .
He also struggled with school in general, which led to him eventually being kicked out.
This was due to the principal having an old rivalry with his dad.
“My family, we just thought he had a doctorate in [expletive],” he said.
12. Steven Spielberg
Not only was he bullied in school, but he was the subject of antisemitism.
“I was a nerd in those days. Outsider, like the kid that played the clarinet in the band and in orchestra, which I did,” he revealed.
13. Christian Bale
Although Christian Bale might have played one of the toughest heroes of all time, his childhood was spent protecting himself.
“I took a beating from several boys for years. They put me through hell, punching and kicking me all the time.”
14. Chris Colfer
“I was very tiny. I spent most of my time stuffed into lockers. Thank god for cell phones, or I’d still be in there.” Colfer admitted about his time in school.
15. Chad Michael Murray
Though he may be a complete heartthrob now, he was not always well received by others.
“I hated high school. I didn’t have any friends, because I didn’t fit in.” he said.
16. Chris Rock
Chris Rock went through a lot during his time in school because he was the only kid with dark skin in his class.
“We lived in Bed-Stuy, one of the most famous ghettos in the world,” Chris said.
“My mother and father wanted me to go to a better school, so I was bused to this poor, white neighborhood…I was the only black boy in my grade for most of the time. I was a little guy, too, a skinny runt.”
“Put the most successful men and women in the world in one room, and ask them to put their hands up to see which ones were bullied. Most of ‘em!”
17. Tom Holland
Sure, right now Tom Holland plays a superhero, but when he was younger, he got a lot of hate for loving theater and dance.
“I had my rough patches,” Holland admitted.
“There was times when I was bullied about dancing and stuff,”
“But you couldn’t hit me hard enough to stop me from doing it.”
18. Richard Madden
Richard Madden got super candid in an interview when he revealed that he is still heavily affected by what happened to him in school.
“It was a difficult place to be,” he admitted.
“There’s not a huge industry in that town anymore. It was rough. My high school was really rough. Growing up was just constant humiliation really.”
“I went to youth theatre to try and get a bit more confidence in myself.”
“In hindsight maybe not the best move to try and fit into a rough, very masculine school to say: ‘Now I do song and dance! Yeah, exactly. I got bullied’.”
When asked on whether or not he still thought about it today, he said:
“Every day, yeah. You’ve got people [expletive] looking at you. I think that did [expletive] me up as a kid and is still a huge hangover around me today.”
We’re thankful to see these celebs moving forward in a positive way!
