Thomas Brodie-Sangster reveals he was bullied during Love Actually filming but rose above it

Thomas Brodie-Sangster recently shared that classmates attempted to “bully” him while he filmed Love Actually at age 13, but he was able to stay resilient. Playing the young Sam in Richard Curtis’ 2003 holiday classic, Brodie-Sangster missed large chunks of school, which led to classmates’ jealousy and bullying.

Speaking to The Telegraph, he revealed that while kids would question his time away, he appreciated returning to “hang around kids [his] own age.” Despite the private tutoring he received on set, Brodie-Sangster said he didn’t let the bullying get to him, eventually befriending his peers.

Since his breakthrough in Love Actually, Brodie-Sangster’s career has flourished, including roles in Nanny McPhee, Game of Thrones, and The Queen’s Gambit, and he now stars in the BBC’s Wolf Hall: The Mirror and the Light.