Welsh actor Luke Evans has been in the industry for more than two decades, best known for his recurring role of Owen Shaw in the Fast & Furious franchise, Girion in The Hobbit films, and the role of the villain Gaston in Disney's 2017 live-action reimagining of Beauty and the Beast.
But appearing onscreen throughout the years has been a blessing and a curse, as Evans says that it's made him more cognizant of his appearance.
The 45-year-old opened up about his aging and body image issues during a recent appearance on the How to Fail with Elizabeth Day podcast, while promoting his new memoir, Boy From the Valleys: My Unexpected Journey.
"I still sometimes go to the gym and just feel very anxious. I look at myself in the mirror and just go, ‘You don’t look good enough,’ or ‘You’re letting it go,'" Evans explained. "I look at my face … the terrible part of my industry is that you’re just reminded constantly of the decades of film you’ve done when you had not a crease on the face and not one gray stubble, whereas all my stubble is now gray."
Evans said that while he's learned to be kinder to himself, he still has "terrible anxiety" about feeling comfortable in his own skin. "I’ve been on a beach just recently, and I didn’t want to take my T-shirt off," he continued. "I don’t want to be in that place. I know I shouldn’t feel like that, but you know we are sensitive creatures, we’re very delicate. As hard as I may look, I am quite delicate."
He noted that staying fit and maintaining a certain level of physical fitness is literally his job. But if he didn't have to occasionally take his shirt off for film roles, he says he'd "probably let it all go."
"I wouldn’t care so much, but it is part of my job," Evans admitted. "I get cast in certain roles that require a certain amount of physical strength and aesthetic. It’s been good because it’s probably kept me on the straight and narrow."
Related: How 'Lord of the Rings' Star Lost 30 Pounds and Gained It Back in Muscle
"I walk down the street or in a bar or in the gym and look at some guy, and he’s like super confident, and I’m just like wow, and it just seems effortless," he added. "When I do, it’s a whole lot of work when I have to present that. I’m not massively confident about lots of things about me, but I’ve learned to deal with it, not ignore it and understand why and process it, but it doesn’t go away."
It's quite refreshing to hear a celebrity be so candid about body image issues, given that the chiseled physique of actors generally appears so effortless. But even the famous deal with the same struggles as the rest of us.
