6 Actors Who Have Spoken About Living With ADHD (And How They Manage It)

ADHD or Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder felt like a buzzword when it was first introduced to the mainstream, but slowly and surely, many in the world are learning more about it and helping erase the stigma that surrounds it. In fact, many successful actors have spoken about having it over the years, and as readers might suspect, they all have different ways of coping with it.

Fortunately, those diagnosed today with ADHD have more advocates to look toward, and even fictional heroes like Percy Jackson who has the same struggles they might. There are also many big actors in Hollywood with upcoming movies in 2024 that have been open about their struggles with the condition and talked about how they cope with it. Today, we celebrate their success and how they’ve helped manage the struggles of ADHD, as well.

Reneé Rapp Uses It To Help Her Creative Process

Reneé Rapp really exploded onto the Hollywood scene as Regina George in the cast of 2024’s Mean Girls, and it’s been onward and upward for her since then. The actress talked to Official Charts about her diagnosis of ADHD and the good and bad of dealing with it while also being a creative working in the industry:

I didn’t know I had ADHD as a kid, I just thought I was really dramatic! I am, but that’s a separate thing. I didn’t know or understand what it was, but now I do and I really love it. I think it helps me a lot. When I’m writing a song, ten songs are coming out of that concept. My brain is in ten different places. I actually really enjoy it. It’s exhausting, don’t get me wrong, but it’s really fun. If it’s somebody else’s story and a different creative process, I don’t do as well and I might panic. When it’s my thing, though, I’m like ‘Wow, I have so many ideas!’

Rapp thrives when she’s in her element, and considering she crushed playing one of the most iconic teen villains in one of the best movies of the 2000s, I think it’s safe to say she’s found ways to make her ADHD work for her. That said, she kept it real about struggling more when she’s not in her element of acting and music-making, and that’s a struggle I’m sure many can relate to.

Ultimately, though, Rapp feels that she can use her ADHD as an asset even when it serves as an occasional hindrance. She went on to talk about how it comes to her aid in her profession, as well as some of the downsides:

I think it really helps my comedy and my ability to deal with things. Don’t get me wrong, it can get bad and fuck me up mentally, but I do think it’s helpful to me in some respects. I’m always thinking of what’s next, which gives me better lyric ideas and more opportunity. More avenues to go down. I like it right now!

As one of the youngest on this list, it’ll be great to see Reneé Rapp thrive and grow in Hollywood. We’ll see how far she can climb and continue to balance the trials of being a young performer and ADHD at the same time.

(Image credit: Columbia Pictures)

Channing Tatum Found Mentors To Learn From

Channing Tatum may have a ton of admirers and people who look up to him as he stars in the critically acclaimed Fly Me To The Moon, but there was a time when his confidence wasn’t at the level it is now. Tatum mentioned in a New York Times interview (via People) that he struggled with ADHD and dyslexia when he was in school, and it led him to believe he wasn’t a very smart person. Over time, however, he found it more helpful to change the way he learned by finding mentors and realized that he just had to break the mold of traditional learning to find success:

I can look at a person and say, ‘They’ve got something that I want up there in their head. I’m going to do my best to get in there and absorb it.’ My mom said, ‘Be a sponge.’ And so I’ve learned more from people than I have from school or from books.

The actor managed to find those mentors when he moved to New York for modeling, and lo and behold, he became the in-demand Hollywood star we see today. Despite his parents not being artistic people, he was able to learn and develop a craft despite feeling inadequate at a young age when it came to his studies. Quite an inspiring story, especially for younger readers experiencing those same struggles with education.

(Image credit: NBC)

Zooey Deschanel Does Crafts

Actress Zooey Deschanel is well-known in Hollywood, but what people may not know is that she, too, is diagnosed with ADHD. That hasn’t stopped her from filming movies Almost Famous and Elf, or doing series like New Girl. So, how does she manage a busy career as an actress and ADHD? In a past blog post, she said she spends a lot of time doing crafts:

Are you an unmedicated adult with Attention Deficit Disorder who also LOVES to do crafts? I AM! I barely have the patience to write this opening paragraph (I have already gotten up four times), so I need to focus my unfocused mind on projects that can be completed very quickly. Am I going to knit a scarf? NO! Will I knit a scarf for a bunny? I don’t know. Maybe, if it’s a really small field bunny and I am knitting with giant knitting needles. I recognize I will never complete something that takes any kind of patience (sorry needlepoint) so I decided to focus this blog on crafts I CAN complete.

Note the important distinction that Deschanel made when she said she likes to do small crafts she know she can complete. It’s about focusing the mind for a few minutes and not trying to take on something that can prove as overwhelming to manage as whatever other tasks are planned for the day. Good to see she’s found something to do, and maybe the resulting crafts can be a small addition to the houses her fiancé Jonathan Scott has renovated.

(Image credit: The Kelly Clarkson Show)

Michelle Rodriguez Decided Medication Wasn’t For Her

Fast & Furious star Michelle Rodriguez told Cosmopolitan Magazine in 2013 she was a person with ADHD but opted not to go on medication. The actress was open about her fears of how that decision would impact her future career goals, and feared it could hamper her beyond acting:

I want to write and direct, but it’s not easy with ADHD. I have a hard time focusing when I’m alone. I’m a scatterbrain.

Perhaps when she finally hangs up her role in the Fast & Furious franchise we will see her pursuing more projects behind the camera, whatever they may be. I know I’d love to see her do it, but if not, she still has a great career in acting.

(Image credit: Sony)

Will Smith Found Solutions To Things That Challenged Him

With no shortage of upcoming Will Smith movies on the way, it’s safe to say the actor hasn’t allowed his ADHD to slow him down. In an interview with Rolling Stone, the actor said his ADHD was a hindrance in school, and he had trouble focusing. As he grew older, he found solutions to those problems and found a way to make his struggles more manageable:

I was a B student who should’ve been getting A’s – classic underachiever. It was hard for me to read an entire book in two weeks. Today I buy a book and have someone read it for me on tape!

When you’re living life “Big Willie Style,” there are always solutions to problems someone might have. Good on Smith for finding success and utilizing modern technology to find different ways to do the things he wants.

(Image credit: Warner Bros.)

Ryan Gosling Was Homeschooled After Struggling In A Traditional Enviornment

By now, it seems clear that many successful actors who had ADHD had their fair share of trouble with schoolwork. The actor has revealed in interviews that he was tested for ADHD and told EW school was a big struggle for him:

I didn’t feel very smart. They kept passing me in school even though I didn’t know how to do things I should have known how to do. Like, I couldn’t read…I couldn’t absorb any of the information, so I caused trouble.

Eventually, Gosling’s mother pulled him out of school and put him in homeschooling. While he was never officially diagnosed, his inability to focus in school is a something that many with ADHD can relate to, and show that sometimes the answer is finding a different way to learn if traditional methods don’t work.

As seen above, there are many methods for treating ADHD, and people who found great success in life using a variety of different tools. Hopefully, we’ll hear more about a lot of them throughout the rest of the year, which is just packed with exciting movies and shows on the horizon.

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