Love Actually child star reveals he was bullied over film role

Love Actually star Thomas Brodie-Sangster has revealed that he was bullied as a child for his role in the popular film.

The 34-year-old actor has had an impressive career on both the big and small screen - even through he is still known best to millions for playing Sam in the 2003 romantic comedy. The actor spent most of his time on screen opposite Liam Neeson, who was his character's father, Daniel.

And while the movie allowed Thomas to rub shoulders with the biggest names in British cinema, it seems his school friends at the time were cruel about his early success. The actor was just 13 years old when the film was released, and he had to balance school with his acting work.

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In a new interview, he explained that the other students at the same drama academy showed signs of jealousy towards him. However, he explained that he did not care when the others he was studying with picked on him.

Thomas played the on-screen son of Liam Neeson's Daniel in Love Actually
(Image: 2003 Universal Studios)

He told the Telegraph : "[The other pupils] would all ask where I'd been, and get a little jealous I got that much time off school. But I always told myself it was good to go back to school to hang around kids my own age. People tried to pick on me but I don't think I cared enough. They would try to bully me for being in a film. But that was my job! I liked doing that! So what was their point? Eventually I kind of made friends with them and they saw that I was all right."

Despite the fact Thomas has appeared in other films including The Maze Runner franchise, Beatles biopic Nowhere Boy, and the hit HBO series Game of Thrones, he explained he feels "old" because fans routinely recognise him most for the work he did 20 years ago - including the 2005 film Nanny McPhee. He explained: "It's really cool. Mothers or, like, big dudes will come up and say, 'I loved Nanny McPhee as a kid!' and now they're grown-up. It does make you feel a little old, but it's nice. It's like Love Actually, everyone loves it, it's not controversial. It's an honour, really, to be in movies that have stood the test of time."

While Thomas claims "everyone loves" Love Actually, it has proven to be a divisive film years after it was released. Modern critics have slammed the film for its "spiritless and insincere" storytelling and wooden acting from some of the major stars that feature in it.

While other aspects of the film - in particular the fat jokes that are made about Martine McCutcheon's character, Natalie - have not aged well. Film director Richard Curtis has even had to admit that he feels guilty about the cruel jokes included in his film - and was given a roasting from his own family over the its content.

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