Millie Bobby Brown gets candid about struggling with self-identity

Millie Bobby Brown opened up about struggling with self-identity as she used to think that she did not belong and battled with loneliness.

In an interview with Allure, the Stranger Things star, 18, also dished on growing in spotlight as a child star and facing online bullying for years.

The actor was asked during the conversation how she managed life being in the public eye to which she replied, “It’s really hard to be hated on when you don’t know who you are yet.”

“It’s like, ‘What do they hate about me? ‘Cause I don’t know who I am.’ It’s almost like, ‘Okay, I’m going to try being this today.’ [And then they say], ‘Oh, no, I hate that.’ ‘Okay. Forget that. I’m going to try being this today.’ ‘Oh, my God! I hate when you do that,'” she added.

Brown continued: “Then you just start shutting down because you’re like, ‘Who am I meant to be? Who do they need me to be for them?'”

The actor went on to reveal that she no longer uses social media on her phone except Facebook and Instagram, which someone else handles for her.

“I started to grow more, and my family and friends really helped. It helped to be able to understand that I don’t need to be anything they said that I need to be. I just have to develop within myself. That’s what I did,” Brown shared.

Brown further said that her struggle with loneliness made her feel like no one understands her and that’s the reason she chose to play characters that people can relate to.

The star revealed that she “always felt different growing up,” adding, “I enjoyed being different people because I always struggled with self-identity and knowing who I was.”

“Even as a young person, I always felt like I didn't quite belong in every room I was in. I also struggle with loneliness a bit. I always felt quite alone in a crowded room, like I was just one of a kind, like nobody ever really understood me,” she added.

“So I liked [playing] characters that people understood [and] people could relate to because I felt like no one could relate to Millie,” Brown noted.