Bodyguard star Richard Madden reveals he was ‘humiliated’ as a child actor after ‘rough’ Scots bullies tormented him for playing a rape victim
The Scottish actor also admitted that over-eating in the early stages of his career led to a massive weight gain
BODYGUARD hunk Richard Madden has admitted he was "humiliated" as a child actor after bullies made fun of him for playing a rape victim in a local theatre production.
The Scots actor spoke about his "rough" hometown of Elderslie, Renfrewshire in his recent GQ spread.
The 32-year-old said he had a rocky start to high school after classmates made fun of him for joining a local theatre group.
He said: "It was a difficult place to be. 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."
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And the tormenting only got worse when Richard played a rape victim in a local production - at just 11-years-old.
He said: "I get raped in it by a big, mid-50s ginger Scotsman.
"Now, when you're 11 or 12 years old, kids don't differentiate that that's not real.
"So going into high school, here's this big fat gay actor guy who got raped.
"That's how you start off high school.
"So humiliation came from that really, and it rolled on from that too."
He also spoke of being overweight as a child actor and developing a 38-inch waist.
He said: "I was just eating too much.
"(On sets) you're constantly given f***ing food all day. Three meals a day, stacked.
When you're 12 you're like, yeah! And I didn't have many friends as I was on set working with adults.
"I had a 38-inch waist. I mean, Christ alive."
"I didn't wear denim until I was 19 because my mum couldn't take jeans up.
"It was hard to take denim up, when you're sewing. So I wore f****** chinos."
Asked whether he was still affected by the bullying as an adult, he replied: "Every day, yeah. You've got people f****** looking at you.
"I think that did f*** me up as a kid and is still a huge hangover around me today."
Since starring in the hit BBC one drama, the Bodyguard actor has been dubbed as 'the next James Bond.'
Richard also revealed that he almost quit acting for good after the "exhausting" work hours left him"hysterical."
The hunk shared a sneak peak of the magazine shoot on Instagram, and fans were quick to praise the star's candid approach to the interview.
One Instagram user commented "a true Scot" while another wrote "king of the north."
Another joked: "All I want for Christmas is you."
The Bodyguard creator revealed that Richard's character, David, was almost killed off in the season finale.
And although there has been no official confirmation of season two, the Scot said he will soon be in talks with show bosses about his character's future.
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He shared: "I'm going to meet Jed in a couple of weeks, to have a chat and see what's in his brilliant brain.
"So, I'm like, what can happen next? You know, with David.
"Because he had a hell of a couple months there. Where do you go with this guy?"
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