Ezra Miller has spoken out about his “painful” years of bullying as a teen and the solace he found in the fictional world of Harry Potter.
In an interview with radio station WENN, the 24-year-old actor, who stars as Credence Barebone in J.K. Rowling’s latest spin-off, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, said it was an audiobook of the author’s iconic series that helped him find the “good in the world”.
“I was teased as a youngster with strange interests, with a speech impediment. I was an easy target,” he says. “When I started going through puberty and having confusing feelings about wanting to kiss people — not all of them being girls, there were moments in my life where I felt ostracized from my contemporaries or my peers.”
He continues: “In those years of bullying I would come home and listen to Harry Potter for a few to several hours every single day while I ate instant ramen.”
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them opened to strong review last week, with Pink News reporting that some commentators have suggested the clandestine wizarding world may, in fact, be a metaphor for LGBT rights.
Related: We need to talk about Ezra Miller
Credits
Text Matthew Whitehouse
Photography Alasdair McLellan
Styling Julia Sarr-Jamois