Brandon Sklenar says he is in therapy for body dysmorphia and still sees himself as a 'chunky' 12-year-old boy

Brandon Sklenar got candid about his struggles with body dysmorphia and how he still sees himself as a 'chunky' 12-year-old boy. 

The 36-year-old actor, who is known for starring in projects such as The Housemaid and 1923, opened up about the topic during an interview with The Hollywood Reporter while promoting his upcoming sports drama Iron Jane. 

Sklenar portrays a former bodybuilding champion in the film also starring Eiza Gonzalez, and explained that his character struggles with the disorder. 

'It's something I've had since I was a kid,' the star said of his own personal battle with body dysmorphia. 

'I was a little kid - short, chunky. I swam in a T-shirt and got made fun of. Then I had a growth spurt and became really lanky, and I got made fun of for that.'

Sklenar stated that it led him to developing an 'obsession' with working out and training. 

'So I started training a lot and got obsessed with working out, like, "I'll show them,"' he recalled. 

'And then it became a kind of obsession, and it becomes a very weird thing, where you see yourself completely differently than pretty much anybody else does, and usually in not a good way.' 

The actor told the outlet that it is still an 'ongoing process' but therapy has helped him. 

'If you look at me now as a 36-year-old man, you'd never guess it, but I still very much feel like that 12-year-old chunky kid - that sense of nothing is ever good enough.'  

He added: 'You have to find a way to check your self-talk, because that's really where it begins and ends - but it's easier said than done.'

The Daily Mail has reached out to reps of Sklenar for comment, but has yet to hear back. 

The star also discussed working at an underground bodybuilding gym when he was a teenager during his conversation with The Hollywood Reporter.

'When I was 15, I was cleaning the floors, and by 18, I was a trainer, training everybody and running the whole gym.'

Sklenar continued: 'There was an MMA gym upstairs, and I would just train MMA all day and then train other people. I started doing martial arts when I was really little, like six.' 

Earlier this year in June, a clip resurfaced of the star from when he promoted the 2018 film Mapplethorpe and shocked fans. 

The baby-faced actor could be seen in a reel posted to Facebook at the time, which prompted some social media users to point out his transformation over the years.

One penned, 'What a transformation, look at him now,' while another typed, 'Wait, is that actually the same person or did he absorb another man?'

'He truly beefed up,' a fan also commented, and one asked, 'There's absolutely no way that's the same person. How far apart are the pictures?' 

Back in 2025, his trainer Wesley Wilson had shared a since-deleted Instagram post which captured Sklenar showing off his six-pack in a mirror selfie. 

'Training one of my best friends for his biggest role yet has been a f***ing blast,' Wilson wrote at the time. 

'We pushed through the hard days and maximized the good. This is the result of showing up day after day for months and months.'

Wilson also gave insight into the star's fitness regime, which included working out two hours daily as well as 'eating enough elk and salmon to feed a freaking village.'

Sklenar has previously talked about staying fit and revealed that he did most of his own stunts on Taylor Sheridan's series 1923. 

'I love using my body. I'm really good at it,' the star said for Interview Magazine last year in April. 

'I grew up fighting and doing construction. If I don't use my body in some way, I feel pretty underutilized.' 

Sklenar's forthcoming movie Iron Jane is currently in its post-production stages, with his casting revealed in May. 

Other celebrities that have taken on roles in the project include Eiza Gonzalez and Simon Rex. 

The premise is: 'After a childhood of neglect, Janie John (Gonzalez) enters the world of female bodybuilding. Coached by a former champion, she undergoes an extreme transformation, but as she rises, her grip on reality fractures,' per IMDB. 

A set release date has yet to be announced. 

Sklenar has also made appearances in other films such as Midway (2019) and It Ends With Us (2024). He is starring in the Western thriller The Rescue, which will release in January 2027.