Topics: Celebrity, Mental Health, Sex Education, The White Lotus, Aimee Lou Wood
Aimee Lou Wood had a surprising reaction when confronting a school bully who made fun of her appearance.
The Stockport-born star, who shot to fame in Netflix's Sex Education, is currently starring in the third season of HBO's holiday satire The White Lotus and in hard-hitting drama Toxic Town, inspired by real events.
After Wood recently weighed in on comments on her teeth, a 2020 interview in which she revealed she'd confronted her bully has resurfaced, leaving fans surprised over the actor's graceful attitude.
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Speaking with the Guardian at the time, Wood explained she was bullied in school not just for her Stockport accent, but for her teeth too - both of which have become distinctive traits of hers since, to the point that The White Lotus creator Mike White wanted her character Chelsea to retain the Mancunian accent rather than speaking with an American twang.
Back to her bully, Wood said this schoolmate of hers 'called [her] Bugs Bunny all the time'.
She later reached out to him, with the two having some closure over his past behaviour.
"I messaged him and he said he thought about it a lot and felt guilty. It was a catharsis," Wood said.
"I would advise people to talk to their school bullies. The chances are they are now adults who feel really bad about it."
Following the White Lotus season three premiere, Wood felt compelled to respond to fans' comments on her teeth, saying she'd have to get veneers if she wanted to play American.
"It's the teeth. Like, no Americans have my teeth. They just don't," she said during the February On Demand Entertainment interview. "I'd have to get veneers. Because … I think that genuinely is like one of the things."
She previously reflected on her 'different' appearance and not seeing herself represented in film and TV.
"[My mouth] was the thing that everyone pointed out and it was the thing that made me different. And I’ve never seen an actress on TV with teeth like mine," Wood said on Instagram, revealing that model Georgia May Jagger, who famously has a gap between her front teeth, helped her embrace her confidence.
"When Georgia Jagger did the ‘Get the London Look’ and she had the gap teeth, that was a huge moment. I then thought, 'I am going to put red lipstick on and I am going to draw attention to it.'"
