Jay from Inbetweeners actor James Buckley reveals fame made him 'scared to leave the house'
28 June 2019, 10:30 | Updated: 28 June 2019, 10:32
Speaking on his podcast, the actor said he hates people taking photos of him.
Inbetweeners actor James Buckley has opened up about his struggles with fame and the anxiety it’s caused him.
The star - who shot to fame playing Jay Cartwright in the E4 comedy back in 2008 - has admitted he even finds it difficult to leave the house sometimes.
Responding to a fan question about the pros and cons of fame on his podcast Complete Load of Podcast, 31-year-old James said apart from “getting a table at a restaurant or people being really helpful when you go into a shop”, there aren’t many positives.
“The cons are... not being able to relax,” he said. “Not being able to feel like you’re not ‘on’ when leaving the house, at any point. I don’t wanna winge about it, but it does make me anxious. It makes me very self-conscious.”
“I think I’m getting closer and closer to never leaving my house again,” he continued.
“If someone said to me: ‘I would really like to be famous,’ I would say to them: ‘You really don’t.’
“Because I’m struggling with it and I’m not even that famous.”
“I’m not anywhere near Tom Cruise or Brad Pitt or someone like that and I really, really struggle with it. It’s something I find really difficult."
Confessing he doesn’t like the invasion of his privacy, father-of-two James said: “Having people take secret pictures of me, it just fries my brain.
“I’m just a bloke – just come talk to me. I’d love to talk to you.”
James first starred in the Inbetweeners when he was just 19-years-old alongside his co-stars Simon Bird, Joe Thomas and Blake Harrison.
After the third and final series ended in 2010, the boys went on to film two Inbetweeners films which were a hit with fans.
But the actor also admitted their are serious downsides to his success, adding: “The price of fame, which we’re finding out more as there’s more people killing themselves, is your mental health.
“And you cannot put a price on that.”
This comes after James opened up about the public backlash his received following The Inbetweeners reunion special aired in January this year.
After viewers described the show - presented by Jimmy Carr - as “awkward”, James said he found it hard to deal with the criticism.
He said at the time: “The worst thing is when people criticise you and you go, ‘Yeah, you’re right.’ It’s really hard to take.”
Speaking about the programme, he explained: “I come across as a complete moron through the whole thing and also there was a bit where I got stuck.
“There would be a couple of times where I would say something and Jimmy would go, ‘Still bulls****ing.’ I got caught where I was acting up as Jay because there was an audience there of Inbetweeners fans and I got caught in this spot between Jay and myself.’”
