MANILA, Philippines – Actor Wentworth Miller shared a thoughtful and encouraging response to a fat-shaming meme that compared his Prison Break physique to a photo taken as he was fighting depression and suicidal thoughts.
On his Facebook page, Wentworth talked about the circumstances he was in when that picture was taken in 2010. In what he called "the lowest point of his adult life," he took to eating to help get through, and put on weight as a result. While hiking with a friend, paparazzi snapped the picture of him, which then appeared in magazines with hurtful captions like "from buff to bulge."
"In 2010, fighting for my mental health, it was the last thing I needed," he wrote.
"Long story short, I survived.
"So do those pictures.
"I'm glad.
"Now, when I see that image of me in my red t-shirt, a rare smile on my face, I am reminded of my struggle. My endurance and my perseverance in the face of all kinds of demons. Some within. Some without."
Taking the high road, Wentworth acknowledged how seeing this photo again hurt him – but that he chose to assign a positive meaning to the situation and that help was available for those going through a similar struggle.
"The first time I saw this meme pop up in my social media feed, I have to admit, it hurt to breathe. But as with everything in life, I get to assign meaning. And the meaning I assign to this/my image is Strength. Healing. Forgiveness.
"Of myself and others," he said.
View the full post, and the entire inspiring message, below:
{source}<div id="fb-root"></div><script>(function(d, s, id) { var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0]; if (d.getElementById(id)) return; js = d.createElement(s); js.id = id; js.src = "//connect.facebook.net/en_US/sdk.js#xfbml=1&version=v2.3"; fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs);}(document, 'script', 'facebook-jssdk'));</script><div class="fb-post" data-href="https://www.facebook.com/wentworthmilleractorwriter/posts/1713822728830662" data-width="500"><div class="fb-xfbml-parse-ignore"><blockquote cite="https://www.facebook.com/wentworthmilleractorwriter/posts/1713822728830662:0"><p>Today I found myself the subject of an Internet meme. Not for the first time. This one, however, stands out from the...</p>Posted by <a href="https://www.facebook.com/wentworthmilleractorwriter/">Wentworth Miller</a> on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/wentworthmilleractorwriter/posts/1713822728830662:0">Monday, March 28, 2016</a></blockquote></div></div>{/source}
Wentworth, 43, was a breakout star in 2005's Prison Break, which aired until 2009. In the show, he played a man who enters prison to break out his brother, an inmate who's been wrongfully convicted.
{source}<div id="fb-root"></div><script>(function(d, s, id) { var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0]; if (d.getElementById(id)) return; js = d.createElement(s); js.id = id; js.src = "//connect.facebook.net/en_US/sdk.js#xfbml=1&version=v2.3"; fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs);}(document, 'script', 'facebook-jssdk'));</script><div class="fb-post" data-href="https://www.facebook.com/wentworthmilleractorwriter/posts/1709956599217275:0" data-width="500"><div class="fb-xfbml-parse-ignore"><blockquote cite="https://www.facebook.com/wentworthmilleractorwriter/posts/1709956599217275:0"><p>#tbt #throwbackthursday #wentworthmiller #dominicpurcell #infirmary #jolietstatepen #firstseason #prisonbreak #fox</p>Posted by <a href="https://www.facebook.com/wentworthmilleractorwriter/">Wentworth Miller</a> on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/wentworthmilleractorwriter/posts/1709956599217275:0">Thursday, March 24, 2016</a></blockquote></div></div>{/source}
Last January, Fox confirmed that Prison Break would return to TV with new episodes, starring Wentworth and Dominic Purcell, who played his brother in the series.
In a February interview with the New York Times, Wentworth spoke up more about coming out, his struggles with depression, and why speaking up about the topic was so important to him.
"Culturally, there’s a wall of silence that we create because we don’t know how to have that conversation yet, because that requires building a vocabulary we don’t have. Meanwhile, people are suffering and people are dying," he said. "It’s within our best interest to figure out what that conversation looks like and to have it openly and publicly without shame as quickly as possible — because if it’s not you, it’s someone you know."
After Prison Break aired, Wentworth wrote the film Stoker, released in 2013. Fans can see him as villain Captain Cold in The Flash, and in DC's Legends of Tomorrow.
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<blockquote class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-captioned data-instgrm-version="6" style=" background:#FFF; border:0; border-radius:3px; box-shadow:0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width:658px; padding:0; width:99.375%; width:-webkit-calc(100% - 2px); width:calc(100% - 2px);"><div style="padding:8px;"> <div style=" background:#F8F8F8; line-height:0; margin-top:40px; padding:50.0% 0; text-align:center; width:100%;"> <div style=" background:url(data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAACwAAAAsCAMAAAApWqozAAAAGFBMVEUiIiI9PT0eHh4gIB4hIBkcHBwcHBwcHBydr+JQAAAACHRSTlMABA4YHyQsM5jtaMwAAADfSURBVDjL7ZVBEgMhCAQBAf//42xcNbpAqakcM0ftUmFAAIBE81IqBJdS3lS6zs3bIpB9WED3YYXFPmHRfT8sgyrCP1x8uEUxLMzNWElFOYCV6mHWWwMzdPEKHlhLw7NWJqkHc4uIZphavDzA2JPzUDsBZziNae2S6owH8xPmX8G7zzgKEOPUoYHvGz1TBCxMkd3kwNVbU0gKHkx+iZILf77IofhrY1nYFnB/lQPb79drWOyJVa/DAvg9B/rLB4cC+Nqgdz/TvBbBnr6GBReqn/nRmDgaQEej7WhonozjF+Y2I/fZou/qAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC); display:block; height:44px; margin:0 auto -44px; position:relative; top:-22px; width:44px;"></div></div> <p style=" margin:8px 0 0 0; padding:0 4px;"> <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BCbRojxpQhy/" style=" color:#000; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px; text-decoration:none; word-wrap:break-word;" target="_blank">Repost @cw_legendsoftomorrow Check out Captain Cold on a new DC's #LegendsOfTomorrow Thursday at 8/7c on The CW.</a></p> <p style=" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px; margin-bottom:0; margin-top:8px; overflow:hidden; padding:8px 0 7px; text-align:center; text-overflow:ellipsis; white-space:nowrap;">A photo posted by The Flash (@cwtheflash) on <time style=" font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px;" datetime="2016-03-01T21:52:37+00:00">Mar 1, 2016 at 1:52pm PST</time></p></div></blockquote>
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