LIFE AFTER Love Actually

THE FORMER CHILD STAR TALKS BULLYING, BROMANCES AND BOND, JAMES BOND

- Carolyn Hiblen

He may be an Emmy-nominated actor, but that didn't make Thomas Brodie-Sangster immune from bullying growing up. In fact, fame was the cause of it. Landing the role of Sam in 2003 Christmas flick Love Actually put a target on his back, with extended periods spent away from school while he was filming not going unnoticed.

"[The other pupils] would all ask where I'd been and get a little jealous I got that much time off school,” the actor recently told The Telegraph. “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?”

Painfully shy and suffering from dyslexia, the now-34-year-old auditioned for several characters in Harry Potter, including Ron Weasley. The audition circuit was an eye-opening experience and, he believes, what shaped his career.