21 September 2014
Newsdesk
Armie Hammer's parents being against his acting dream was the "greatest thing" they ever did for him.
The 28-year-old actor has made a name for himself on both the small and big screen, having roles in TV shows like Gossip Girl, and movies including Mirror Mirror.
During the eleventh grade of high school, Armie dropped out to pursue his desired career. He previously revealed his mom and dad disowned him at the time, and looking back, the star now realises it benefited him.
"When I was about 11, I told my parents, 'I want to act,' and they were like, 'No!' And it was the greatest thing they ever did for me, because what gets child actors isn't the fame," he explained to the October issue of America's Esquire. "It's spending their developmental years associating who they are with their jobs. And then when they lose their job, it's not like an adult who can say, 'Sh*t! Now I need another job.' They lose who they thought they were. There's things in this business children shouldn't deal with, you know?"
Armie was speaking as part of a piece exploring the people who made famous actors the men they are today.
Lenny Kravitz also joined in the conversation, and cited a family member as someone who inspired him to follow his talents.
"My grandfather made me do a lot of hard work as a kid. Getting up at five in the morning to chop wood, string it up - you know, all kinds of things that I didn't understand as an 11-year-old," Lenny recalled to the publication. "But it was all to teach me about discipline, follow-through; the things that would give me a really good foundation. He encouraged me to use my mind, and he encouraged me to teach him."
