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'Doogie Howser' Star Max Casella Reveals 'Horror' Of Not Hitting Puberty Until Age 27
Actor Max Casella opened up about not reaching puberty until his late 20s in an interview with Page Six.
At Wednesday's premiere for his Paramount+ series Tulsa King, Casella said he had pituitary dwarfism and he was 27 when he finally hit puberty.
"I was given testosterone," he recalled, adding:
"I was on growth hormones; I'm still on those things. My body didn't go through the change by itself."
The now 55-year-old explained:
"I have a malfunctioning pituitary gland from birth and basically had to jumpstart my puberty by pumping me full of testosterone and growth hormones to get me to grow because it wasn't happening."
"I was 25, and I hadn't even shaved."
\u201cMax Casella didn't hit puberty until age 27: 'It was a horror show' https://t.co/MU5zuTLqNR\u201d— Page Six (@Page Six) 1668196719
At a time when there wasn't a discussion surrounding his condition he described as "a horror show," Casella said:
"I couldn't talk about it. No one understood it. It's like the trans community today talks about body dysmorphia and feeling like, 'I'm in the wrong body,' absolutely my experience."
"Absolutely. I was a man trapped in a little boy's body throughout most of my 20s until they finally pumped me full of testosterone."
\u201cCongrats to Max Casella on being able to help others with #pituitarydwarfism! Heroes come in all sizes #growthhormonedeficiency #magicfoundation #childrensgrowth #TulsaKing #hypopituitarism\u201d— MAGIC Foundation (@MAGIC Foundation) 1668522264
From 1989 to 1993, Casella played Vincent "Vinnie" Delpino in the television series Doogie Howser, M.D. with Neil Patrick Harris in the titular role.
He transitioned into films in 1992 playing Racetrack Higgins in Disney's musical film, Newsies, and then in WindRunner: A Spirited Journey, starring Margot Kidder and Russell Means as Jim Thorpe's ghost.
Moving on to other more mature roles proved to be difficult as his growth hormone deficiency left him cast as younger characters than his actual age.
"Show business can just step all over your heart," he said.
"You go out to L.A., get on [a] TV show, get famous and then you're known for this show for a while. I was in my 20s, I was playing kids, prepubescent characters."
"And then I grew out of that and grew up into manhood, and I had to start all over again, because it wasn't a smooth transition like it is for a lucky few people."
\u201cThis guys is the absolute best, just been grinding away doing killer work for years. Elated to see him doing well https://t.co/Sle7V7q5xR\u201d— Luke Edwards (@Luke Edwards) 1668290314
\u201c.@TheSlyStallone returns to TV in the new crime drama @TulsaKing! Check out my @StarryMag interviews with stars Sylvester Stallone, Garrett Hedlund, Jay Will, Dana Delany and Max Casella to snag some insight into making the series at https://t.co/GJLW1H32uw! #TulsaKing\u201d— Jamie Steinberg (@Jamie Steinberg) 1668387407
Here is a trailer for Tulsa King.
Tulsa King | Official Trailer | Paramount+youtu.be
\u201cDana Delany and Max Casella talk about their characters and working with Sylvester Stallone on #TulsaKing\n\nThe full video \ud83d\udc47\nhttps://t.co/BTLP6gYJZ5\n\n\ud83d\udcfc: TV Fanatic\u201d— \ud83d\udc60 Lady D's Legs \ud83d\udc60 (@\ud83d\udc60 Lady D's Legs \ud83d\udc60) 1668290504
Tulsa King premiered on November 13, 2022 and is streaming on Paramount+.