Health · Mental Health · 35 mins ago
Brandon Sklenar Says He Has Struggled With Body Dysmorphia Since Childhood
Actor Brandon Sklenar says he has struggled with body dysmorphia since childhood and is still dealing with body image issues at 36.
He recalled being teased first for being short and chunky, then for becoming lanky, and said he began working out obsessively to prove people wrong.
His experience in a New Jersey bodybuilding gym also helped draw him to “Iron Jane,” where he plays Josh, a former champion who guides a woman entering competitive bodybuilding.
The film stars Eiza González as the woman, who undergoes an intense transformation after a difficult childhood.
Sklenar says the film explores body image and dysmorphia, issues he believes deserve more discussion amid social media and fitness influencers.
He found a scene in which he poses for a full-body shot uncomfortable, but said working on the film helped him confront insecurities; he also said therapy helps him and that changing negative self-talk is difficult.
Actor Brandon Sklenar says he has struggled with body dysmorphia since childhood.
He said he was mocked as a child for being short and chunky, then later for being lanky.
Sklenar said he became obsessed with working out to prove his critics wrong.
His experiences helped shape his performance as a former bodybuilding champion in the upcoming film “Iron Jane.”
He said therapy helps, but he still feels at times like the 12-year-old child he once was.
- Who
- Brandon Sklenar, an actor who stars in “Iron Jane.
- What
- He spoke about his long-running struggles with body dysmorphia and how they informed his role in the film.
- When
- The struggles began in childhood. Sklenar is 36.
- Where
- Not stated
- Why
- Sklenar said his experiences gave him a personal connection to the film’s themes of body image and dysmorphia.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
Sklenar said he began martial arts when he was very young.
He said he still feels like the child he was at 12, who struggled with body image.
He said he was cleaning floors at an underground bodybuilding gym.
He said he became a trainer and ran the gym.
- Age
- Sklenar is 36
- Film
- Iron Jane
- Co-star
- Eiza González
- Sklenar’s role
- A former champion who guides a woman pursuing competitive bodybuilding
- Gym experience
- He said he worked at an underground bodybuilding gym in northern New Jersey
What people are saying
This is something I’ve struggled with
Therapy helps for sure.
I still very much feel like that 12-year-old chunky kid — that sense of nothing is ever good enough
You have to find a way to check your self-talk, because that’s really where it begins and ends — but it’s easier said than done.