Penn Badgley opens over the dark period that triggered the dysmorphia of his body

Penn Badgley is opening on his first struggles with body image, long before “Gossip Girl” and “You” made him a family name.

In an interview with The Guardian to promote the final season of “You”, the actor said he experienced body dysmorphia during his adolescence years, but acknowledged that he never received a formal diagnosis.

“I know I hated my body and just wanted a different one,” Badgley told The Outlet.

According to Medicine Johns Hopkins, body dysmorphia or body dysmorphic disorder is a mental health condition in which a person has an obsessive approach in the defects perceived in their appearance. It can cause stress, anxiety and even suicidal ideations.

Badgley pointed out that his parents’ divorce had a negative price in his self -esteem, after which he began to eat in excess in response. When he started acting at age 12, making his first appearance on screen with a small role in “Will & Grace”, he said his pressures only increased.

Netflix

“There was only a period in which, when leaving depression and isolation, I was deliberately jumping, but they also pushed me, this world where it seemed more conventionally, it could be more successful, more value could have,” he said. “There is no way to overcome the superficiality of this work, and if you recognize it, you cannot avoid recognizing the superficiality of our culture, due to the way in which this work rewards.”

These days, Badgley is happily a married father of two children, although his family will grow at the end of this year. In February, his wife Domino Kirke revealed on Instagram that the couple expects a set of twins.

He also learned to deal with the continuous scrutiny about his appearance in Hollywood through spirituality, pointing out that he says and meditates daily.

“That is what allowed me to persevere through disappointment, all the things I had been dealing with, and then return to everything, but hopefully some kind of internal transformation,” he said.

Season 5 of “You”, which hits Netflix last week, will see Badgley portraying the murderous antihero Joe Goldberg for the last time. Although the actor has a difficult lip of details, he said he believes that the series “really reached the best resolution for him.”

If you are struggling with an eating disorder, call or send a text message to 988 or chat 988lifeline.org to obtain support.