Will Poulter struggled with mental health during pandemic

Will Poulter “struggled” with his mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The 28-year-old actor admitted he found things tough during the global health crisis, and he knows “many people” felt the same amid lockdowns and other restrictions.

He told E! News: “To be completely candid with you, I really struggled with my mental health like many people did throughout the pandemic.”

The ‘Dopek’ star admitted his role as Billy Cutler in the Hulu miniseries – which was created by Danny Strong and based on Beth Macy’s 2018 book ‘Dopek: Dealers, Doctors and the Drug Company that Addicted America’ – also proved challenging mentally.

He noted the cast and crew were “very empathic” towards him, and added: “I’m very grateful to them for that.

After filming finished on the show, Will took time out to visit his family as he put a renewed focus on his phyal and mental health.

He explained: “I am a big proponent of phyal exercise and the natural endorphins that come from doing that as a means of improving your mental health.”

He also makes sure to keep a “regulated distance from social media”.

He said: “I try and maintain a kind of healthy and regulated distance from social media, because often on social media you’re exposing yourself to the opinions of people that you don’t know.”

Meanwhile, Will – who lives on his own in east London – previously suggested being “a social recluse” actually helped him during lockdown, as the situation wasn’t a particularly new experience.

He said: “As an actor, you spend a lot of time unemployed, so lockdown wasn’t wildly different to a lot of the time that I’ve spent. And I am a bit of a social recluse as well, I guess, so it wasn’t a huge adaptation for me.”

Will has been acting since an early age, but he’s pondered how the experience actually stunted the development of his real-life personality.

He explained: “It felt like a reprieve from being who I was on a day-to-day basis.”