Warning: The article contains discussions relating to body dysmorphia and body image issues.
Fans of HBO's The White Lotus were saddened to hear season 3 star Aimee Lou Wood's comments about how she almost wasn't cast in the show because she thought she was too "ugly."
The British actor, who played Chelsea on the social satire anthology series, opened up to GQ magazine about how HBO execs were initially reluctant about her casting in the series, of which she was admittedly a "superfan."
Fortunately, The White Lotus creator Mike White came through, resulting in the actor giving us one of the most standout characters and performances of the season.
At the end of the first week of filming, which mostly took place at the Four Seasons Koh Samui in Thailand, Wood said a producer had approached her with startling information.
“Someone told me how much Mike had fought for me. They said ‘it had to be you, no matter what HBO said,’ " Wood recalled and imagined a conversation regarding her looks in the casting office.
“It was honestly from the nicest place, but my little head goes: ‘HBO didn’t want me. And I know why HBO didn’t want me, it’s because I'm ugly. Mike had to say ‘Please let me have the ugly girl!’ That was the thing that was in my head," laughed the 31-year-old.
It made her wonder if she was weird, which was the vibe White encouraged Wood to tap into in portraying Chelsea. He would tell her things like, "Don’t get in the way of your weirdness," and for her to "Be freaky!"
Fans who embraced Wood's quirky and beloved character on the show were gutted to learn about how she negatively viewed herself.
A post on X (formerly Twitter) said, "My heart just shattered into a million pieces aimee lou wood you are so so loved," racking up over 42,000 views.
Fans gushed about the Sex Education actor despite her vulnerable self-assessment.
Recently on The Jonathan Ross Show, Wood talked about the online fixation the American public has on her teeth, particularly with orthodontists.
She explained:
"They like, dissect my teeth…and say what's wrong with it but at the end they go 'But we don't think she should change a thing.' "
Hearing such a reassuring comment made her realize it was a "full circle moment" after she had been bullied and teased growing up.
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Some users brought up the subject of "impostor syndrome," the psychological experience where self-doubt and feeling like a fraud prevents people from realizing their full potential.
Wood mentioned this in 2021 during an interview with Grazia.
“The first few photoshoots that I did, I was thinking, ‘What the hell am I doing here?’ Because I’m not a model, and this isn’t my comfort zone at all."
"I just try not to engage with imposter syndrome—just try to be in the here and now," she said, adding that the more she stayed in the present during photo sessions, the more the insecurities tended to go away.
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Her recent GQ comments about feeling "ugly" are even more devastating considering her history with battling body dysmorphia.
In 2020, she broke down in tears during an interview with Glamour UK when she shared with the interviewer that she used to "berate" herself as a knee-jerk response to anything positive.
Touching on some of the intimate scenes she performed on Netflix's British teen sex comedy drama Sex Education, Wood said she thought she should only be eating "salads" before shooting scenes.
Said Wood:
“I have suffered with body dysmorphia my whole life. I was so harsh to myself."
"I actually wrote on my mirror when I was younger ‘fat’ in lipstick, so that every day I’d go to it and go, 'OK, just remind yourself that that’s what you are.' "
Wood broke down, reflecting on her painful past, and was comforted by her Glamour interviewer, Josh Smith, who lauded her for speaking so openly about a difficult subject and being able to feel "liberated" as a result.
The actor agreed and said that her newfound strength at the time, sharing her story, has made her become a role model for other women dealing with body issues.
"It is the best, most rewarding thing when I see girls comment, 'This has helped me so much with my eating disorder. Thank you so much.' " said Wood.
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Wood added:
“Learning that perfection doesn’t exist, and that beauty lies in those flaws and those individualities and those nuances—it’s just the most liberating thing ever because you’re striving for something that doesn’t exist."
"You’re never going to look, to you, what you think perfect is until you just go, 'Oh, I am the way I am.' "
All episodes of the third season of The White Lotus are available for streaming on Max.
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