There was a lot of jealousy towards me: Naomie Harris on being bullied

Naomie Harris says she got bullied in school because she was an ''oddball'' but it pushed her to make it as an actor.

The "Moonlight" star said bullying gave her a chance to escape into an imaginary world which polished her as a performer.

"I think there was a lot of jealousy towards me. I have always been an oddball. I didn't have many friends, and the class bully turned everyone against me, so I retreated into a world of my own imagination. In hindsight that was a blessing, because acting is all about escaping to an imaginary world," Harris told The Times.

"What I heard so much when I was growing up was, 'You'll never make it, you're black, you're a woman, it's really hard out there, there's so much racism in the industry, how are you going to overcome it?' I just heard the word no. But being bullied fuelled my ambition and gave me an immense desire to prove something," she added.