Will Poulter says subject of mental health ‘especially stigmatised’ in men

Will Poulter has said the subject of mental health is “especially stigmatised” in men, adding that you cannot always tell who is “struggling”.

The 30-year-old British actor, who has been diagnosed with generalised anxiety disorder, depression and OCD, has teamed up with Movember for its 20th anniversary to raise funds and awareness of testicular cancer, prostate cancer, mental health and suicide prevention.

Speaking about male mental health, Poulter, known for his roles in We’re The Millers and The Maze Runner, told the PA news agency: “I think, within the male community, the subject of mental health is especially stigmatised, three out of four suicides in the UK now involve men.”

According to the Office for National Statistics, around three-quarters (74%) of the suicides registered in England and Wales in 2021 were men.

Poulter added: “What I try and do is, I try and encourage the conversation around mental health as regularly as I can.

“I try also not to make any assumptions that, just because someone appears one way, they might not be dealing with something internally or that, behind closed doors, they might be struggling, or not struggling, despite what they kind of demonstrate socially.”

Speaking specifically about his own experience with mental health issues, including OCD and anxiety, he said: “Those things have obviously kind of textured my experience in a number of different ways.

“I’ve found, certainly, that having the opportunity to talk in a kind of no-holds-barred fashion, and not to feel the kind of brunt of the stigma, has been really beneficial.”

Poulter has been acting since he was a child, having appeared in the 2007 film Son Of Rambow.

Discussing what it was like to grow up in the spotlight and whether it has affected his mental health, he said: “I think, for me, performance offered me, I think, something of an escape.

“For a while maybe I wasn’t sort of addressing some of my mental health issues as early as I might have, because I was losing myself in my work a little bit, and that’s probably quite relatable to a lot of people, whether they’re actors or not.

“So it’s been a kind of blessing and a curse in that respect, if I’m being completely honest, but I’m obviously very, very grateful to have found something that ultimately I’m very passionate about and I love doing so it nets out as being a positive and I’m grateful for it.”

Movember is an annual event where people grow moustaches during the month of November to raise awareness of a variety of men’s issues, and 2023 marks 20 years since the charity was founded in a pub in Melbourne, Australia, by two friends.

Portrait photographer Rankin has teamed up with Movember to photograph people including Poulter, ex-Arsenal footballer Jermaine Pennant, TV presenters Laura Whitmore and Iain Stirling, and members of boyband Busted.

Poulter is an ambassador of Movember, united to take on mental health, suicide, prostate and testicular cancers. See Movember.com.

– For mental health support, contact the Samaritans on 116 123, email them at jo@samaritans.org, or visit samaritans.org to find your nearest branch.