Balance July 2019 - 60

"SOCIAL MEDIA'S HAVING
A DETRIMENTAL EFFECT"

CULTURE
INTERVIEW

Midsommar star Will Poulter on imposter syndrome and 'that' Twitter statement

W

ill Poulter is all grown up. He
exploded as a child star via Son of
Rambow and, at 26, is now one of
Britain's best, via the incredible
Detroit, The Revenant and new film Midsommar
(from Hereditary wunderkind Ari Aster). He
opened up to Balance on his career so far, and his
mental health journey after he famously stepped
away from Twitter...

Son of Rambow already feels like a classic.
With it being my first film, I didn't know what to
expect. My co-star, Bill Milner, is still a friend of
mine. We shot it over eight weeks in a summer
holiday, and neither of us had done a film before.
We thought it might end up in the Blockbuster
bargain bin after nine people watched it - people
Bill and I were related to. We could never have
imagined it would play internationally and that
Paramount would buy it. I remember staring at
a Son of Rambow poster in South Korea thinking,
"How the hell did this happen?"
Given your early promise, how lovely is it to
have fulfilled that potential?
Even though I've been doing this for a while, I still
pinch myself. That hasn't gone away. Imposter
syndrome sets in. When I'm on set with Kathryn
Bigelow I think, "Do I deserve to be here?" Or
5,000ft up a mountain, above sea level, with
people I'm a major fan of, and I'm like, "When am
I going to get evicted from the set?" I'm grateful
for people taking a chance on me. You feel
pressure on the outside and then the pressure you
put on yourself.
How exciting was it to make Midsommar?
Ari Aster feels like Chris Nolan in that I want
to see whatever he makes... I haven't heard that
comparison, but I think that's very true in that
he brings such a strong sense of identity with his

work. It's exceptional in quality and unique. He
has plans for things that stretch across all types of
genres. If Ari said to me tomorrow, "Will you be
in my next film?" I'd say yes. He is so special.
And the Midsommar buzz is strong...
It is truly disturbing. It's a dread-filled, slightly
unnerving film that leaves you with a sickening
feeling. The after effects are
major. I was messed up for a day
and a night after watching it.

But something had to change?
In the interest of my mental health, I needed to
reduce my usage and redesign how I use it. It
has been liberating and people's responses have
been really encouraging. It is a relatively new
thing in all of our lives and we need to work
out how much of a role it will play. We need to
think carefully about it in regards to our mental
health because sometimes,
without
realising,
it's
having a detrimental effect
and it takes stepping away
to make you realise you
might actually be better off
without it.

LEAVING
TWITTER
HAS BEEN
LIBERATING

How restorative has it been
for your mental health after
you decided to step away
from social media?
It's been really nice, actually.
Social media, like anything,
needs to be considered in the context of
moderation; you should never engage with any
one thing to excess. I tried my best with social
media to do something that was in my control.
But it's one of those things that, by its nature,
requires you to have conversations you don't
want to take part in. So the best way for me to
relinquish control was to step back and reduce
my level of interaction with it. That statement
was there to say each to their own. I don't judge
anyone for using it, or not using it. I'm grateful to
the support and for the positive experiences I've
had using social media.

What else has helped you?
Matt Haig's books on
personal development. I'm a huge fan of his
writing; I've read three of his books and even
bought them for friends and family. I've had some
of the most life affirming experiences reading
those books, Reasons to Stay Alive in particular.
And the Blindboy podcast is something else
I love. Mental health is a regular topic, and it's
funny. I am a big believer in laughter being a great
medicine. Not necessarily 'the best', but it's a good
medicine. Escapism and finding time to laugh can
be very good for us.

Midsommar is in cinemas nationwide now

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