10 Famous Comedians With Dark Sides You Didn’t Know About

6. David Walliams

Most of us are used to seeing him frolicking about our screens in an exuberant frock, caring for his onscreen partner Matt Lucas as Andy "Want That One" Pipkin, or coughing in customer's faces as bored travel agent Carol "Computer Says No" Beer. His colourful characters shot him to fame when Little Britain kicked off in 2003 (yep - 11 years already), and the country went mad for his hilarious catchphrases, crude humour and wacky get-ups. However, the fabulously carefree David we see on his sketch shows is a far-cry from the inner shell of the comedian. Walliams has openly discussed his battle with depression in the past, stating he is often racked by self loathing, despair and "dark thoughts" that have plagued him since being young. Walliams has attempted suicide several times throughout his life - the first time at the age of 12, after being bullied at Sea Scouts for his tall physique. He was hospitalised after overdosing when he was 18 and cut his throat and wrists with a kitchen knife on New Years Day 2003. In the same year, he wrote how he had also tried to hang himself and came close to stepping in front of a train. He's admitted to having a pathological fear of being alone, as that is when the self-destructive thoughts start to unravel, and confessed: "wanting to die has always been in me." As a child, he used to escape depressive episodes by locking himself in the bathroom, listening to Rowan Atkinson albums and practicing comedy routines. Now, he keeps intrusive thoughts and self-hating states at bay by keeping creative and working hard. His epic charity swim across the English Channel in 2006 was said to be an act of "redemption", because he didn't see himself as a good person.
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