Jonah Hill Says Physical Insecurities Made Him “Intensely Screwed” in a Mental Health Documentary

Jonah Hill reconciles with his troubled former self supportthe documentary he directed, centered on his therapist Phil Stutz, a renowned psychiatrist to the stars.

The actor and filmmaker opens up about his physical insecurities — ones that are “intensely f—ed [him] up” – in the experimental project debuting November 14 on Netflix. Hill’s most personal project to date, the documentary features candid conversations between the actor and Stutz in intimate, unorthodox sessions that flip the script to therapist-patient dynamics.

“I keep asking myself, ‘Was that a terrible idea for a patient to do a film about their therapist?'” Hill laments at one point. Stutz quips that this is “either the best documentary ever made or the worst,” adding, “it’s probably both.” In it, Hill sheds light on Stutz’s approach to mental wellbeing and speaks candidly about the factors that led him to seek help. That Wolf of Wall Street The actor began dating Stutz “out of desperation to be happier,” he reveals.

Netflix Jonah Hill in Stutz

“I didn’t have a healthy self-esteem,” says Hill. “Growing up overweight was something — it doesn’t sound like a big deal or like ‘poor’ or whatever — but for me personally, it really drained me.” Hill reveals that Stutz’s introduction of the concept of a ‘shadow,’ describing the version of yourself that you most want to hide from the world has helped him realize that he hasn’t completely shaken off his past self-loathing.

At one point, Hill pulls out a large cardboard cutout of himself as a teenager, when he was heavier. “That’s what I imagined that day – me at 14,” he says, recalling the day Stutz told him to imagine his shadow. “When I met you, I was like 33. I was incredibly successful,” says Hill, who rose to fame through comedy Very bad and 21 Jump Street. But “at my core, I’m still this unlovable person,” he says. “The work moves towards not just accepting [that] It’s great to be that person, but it’s still very difficult.”

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Hill “has no self-confidence as a person,” he says. “I just didn’t invest in myself and understand how to like myself. I was just working to achieve that thing, which is your idea of ​​the snapshot.” ​​Stutz defines the snapshot as a realm of illusion in which the individual seeks the perfect experience. “I think success and awards will take away the pain of life for me, so I work so hard to get to this snapshot,” he says.

Netflix

However, once success kicked in, “it didn’t heal any of that,” says Hill. “It got me beyond depressed. At the same time, the media was always very brutal about my weight. It was just a free game for everyone to hit my sore spot. I was so angry. It kept me from feeling like I could overcome negative feelings about myself.”

The documentary follows Hill and Stutz’s mental health. Over the summer, Hill announced that he would be retiring from promoting his upcoming films. support included, for mental health purposes. He revealed that he has suffered from anxiety attacks for over 20 years, which have been made worse by media appearances and high-profile events.

The film is a tribute to Stutz’s life and career, punctuated by light-hearted moments between two friends from different generations. “I’m making this film because I want to bring the therapy and tools I learned in therapy to as many people as possible through a film,” Hill says in the documentary. “I made this film because I love Phil, because I love the life these tools have given me. And it doesn’t matter what people think of the film. It just matters that we finished it together.”

support debuts November 14 on Netflix.

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