Skins legend Hannah Murray was sectioned after being lured into a wellness “cult”.
Hannah, who was born and raised in Bristol, shot to fame by playing the role of Cassie in the original cast of Skins. Dealing with eating disorders on the show, her character was particularly vulnerable, but now actress Hannah is facing her own demons head on.
The star, who also played the role of Gilly in the hit series Game of Thrones, is releasing her memoir next year, where she recounts some of the most painful memories in her life. One of these includes how she had fallen into a wellness group that proved to have more sinister intentions.
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Writing in her book, the 35-year-old actress said she had been “detained” by the group and her mental health was so low that she was taken into a mental hospital in 2017. Speaking to The Sun about her ordeal, she explained that after years of hiding her story, she believed this was the right time to come clean.
(Image: FilmMagic for HBO)
“This is the story of the blurred line between what is real, and what is an illusion; what we must accept and what we wish to be true; between solid earth beneath your feet and a world where anything is possible if you only commit,” the publishers of her book explained. “It is about the lure of those that tell us they can save us, and the deceptive structure of organisations that promise us ‘wellness’.”
They added: “It’s about the acting world, but also about the way all of us act, hiding our vulnerabilities from everyone except the people trained to prey on them.” Actress Hannah herself also said of the book: “The Make-Believe tells a deeply personal story that has lived inside me for many years and which it now feels vital to share.”
(Image: HBO)
Her mental health crises match up with that of her Skins character Cassie, who had been battling with mental health issues of her own. In a previous interview, Hannah admitted that playing the role of someone with mental health issues can in turn cause damage to the actor’s own psyche.
Shooting to stardom aged just 17, Hannah’s role on the Channel 4 teen drama was critically acclaimed as she showed the effects of anorexia in full force. But behind the lashings of praise, Hannah admitted to Backstage that her first acting role set up a dangerous precedent in her head.
(Image: Channel 4)
“My first role, I played a girl with anorexia who had suicide attempts and addiction problems, and it was heavy stuff,” she recalled. “And I thought being an actor meant being tortured and angst-ridden and suffering and I had to feel everything for real and hold on to it.
“I really believed in the idea of the tortured artist. And that is not sustainable, by any means.”
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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
