Sam Claflin pushed himself too far in 'desperate' bid to get Oscar nod
Sam Claflin was "desperate" to be nominated for an Oscar but went "too far" when he took on a bleak role in 'The Nightingale'.
Sam Claflin was "desperate" to be nominated for an Oscar.
The 36-year-old actor admitted he pushed himself out of his comfort zone in a quest for critical acclaim and recognition but realised he had gone "too far" away from what he was happy to do when he played a rapist who has a baby slammed against a wall in 'The Nightingale'.
He told this week's edition of GQ Hype: “I went through a stage of desperately vying for an Oscar but doing things that were really not me. Physically, emotionally transforming myself.
“['The Nightingale'] was too far the other way. I think that was the turning point in my life. I don’t think I could do that again.”
The 'Daisy Jones and the Six' actor admitted he has taken on some roles that he's had "second thoughts" about but didn't want to drop out of the projects because he was worried people would think badly of him or consider him "difficult" to work with.
He said: “There’ve been a few jobs I’ve agreed to and later had second thoughts, but I’d given my word.
"I don't want to be perceived as someone who is difficult.”
And Sam - who has two children with ex-wife Laura Haddock - admitted he has lost his sense of self because he's always been so desperate to please other people.
He said: “One of the reasons I became an actor is that I always want people to like me.
"I think it’s only recently dawned on me that I try so hard to make other people happy that I don’t know who I am.
"I’m from Norfolk but I’ve just adopted an accent that no one can really put a flag on. It’s an amalgamation of other people’s accents. Over time I’d sort of lost, I don’t know… What makes me happy?”
Read the full interview with Sam now at https://www.gq-magazine.co.uk/culture/article/sam-claflin-interview-2023
