David Harewood reveals the scrutiny he faced as a black actor performing Shakespeare triggered his psychosis 30 years ago - and re-visiting it for a BBC show almost sparked ANOTHER breakdown
- The British actor was sectioned at the age of 23 after suffering psychotic episode
- Homeland star, 53, re-visits his traumatic twenties in new BBC documentary
- He says one of the triggers was his identity, not being 'black enough for the black crowd' and being a 'novelty' because he was a black actor in Shakespeare plays
- Described filming the new BBC2 show 'incredibly stressful' and said it's closest he's ever come to having another breakdown
Homeland star David Harewood says filming a new documentary about being sectioned at the age of 23 was 'incredibly stressful' and is the closest he's come to having another breakdown.
His BBC Two show, David Harewood: Psychosis And Me, airs on Thursday this week as part of a series of programmes focusing on mental health.
Exploring the triggers for his psychotic episode, the British actor, 53, has revealed that he thinks an 'identity crisis' was a major contributing factor to the extreme decline in his mental health.
Speaking to the Telegraph, father-of-two Harewood said his experiences as a young drama student had left him unprepared for real life.
He explains: 'I was fairly well spoken after RADA, so I wasn't black enough for the black crowd, and a bit of a novelty as a Shakespearean black actor, so my identity was under a lot of pressure.'
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Homeland star David Harewood says filming a new documentary for the BBC saw him explore the reasons behind a psychotic episode 30 years ago that saw him sectioned while working as a young actor in London
The father-of-two who hasn't suffered a similar episode since says his identity was under pressure as a 23-year-old fresh out of drama school because he spoke well and 'wasn't black enough for the black crowd'
This morning, he told Zoe Ball on the Radio 2 Breakfast Show that re-visiting his psychotic episode - which saw him believing that Martin Luther King was talking to him - is the closest he's been to having another breakdown.
He explained: 'Apart from making this documentary, I've never been close to having another breakdown.
'I did find making the show incredibly stressful because while at the same time we're covering these memories, I'm doing my jaunty best to be a BBC presenter and talk to all these people.
Harewood, who played a CIA boss in the US TV hit Homeland and spoke out about his experiences publicly for the first time in 2017, continued: 'At the same time I'm dealing with my own stuff and it was very stressful for me to do - it was about as close as I'd come but no, having had the experience I got through the other end.'
The actor told the radio presenter: '15 per cent of people who have severe psychosis never need any more medication and never have another bout of it...I guess I fall into that 15 per cent.'
Speaking out during Mental Health Awareness Week, he told the Press Association earlier this month: 'I want to instil this idea that it is no barrier to future success, you're not on the scrapheap of life because you've got depression or anxiety.
'It doesn't make you any less, it doesn't make you a bad person or damaged goods.
'If anything, it gives you a level of insight that people who have never had that condition will never experience.'
In the documentary, Birmingham-born Harewood visits the friends who first took him to hospital whilst filming the one-off documentary and is visibly upset on-screen as he shares his story.
'I wasn't initially (upset), because I'd forgotten about it I'd – buried it,' he said.
'You'll see in the film, there's a moment where I suddenly f**king remember and it was really upsetting.
'There was a moment during the filming where I was terrified because I suddenly realise I'd buried the pain, the trauma, of my breakdown, but remembered all the mania and the fun and some of the more exciting and entertaining moments.
'But the pain and the upset and the disturbance that I'd experienced, as we do as humans, we just bury it.
'And it was only when I suddenly remembered that, but now I've got my head around it.'
At one point, he believed that Martin Luther King was talking to him 'from beyond the grave'.
'We talked for quite some time before he gave me specific instructions about something I needed to do and it would free the world of all hunger and poverty that same night,' Harewood said.
Harewood told The Telegraph that being well spoken having studied at RADA left him not sure where he fitted in when he struck out on his own
The star who only began speaking out fully about his breakdown in 2017 says he hopes talking about mental health will help others reach out for the help they need
The documentary is part of a series which also covers anxiety and depression, featuring famed baker Nadiya Hussain and Tony Blair's former spin doctor Alastair Campbell.
The Blood Diamond and Supergirl actor added that he hopes that the documentary will change the public perception of psychosis.
He said: 'I'm hoping that what people will begin to recognise is that person is disturbed and going through something.
'When I was in the middle of my breakdown, I was arrested at one point and locked in a cell, and taken to court.
'I only remember vague memories but I was clearly not well and I walked out of the court and this lady came up to me, I don't know who she was, she stopped me and asked if I was okay.
'And I said, "I don't know who I am" and she could clearly see I was unwell, so she went into her purse and got out ten quid and flagged a cab down.
'Just to reach out and say, "are you feeling okay?", rather than us all looking at our phones.
'Clearly there's a spectrum but I'd say 90 per cent of people experiencing mental health issues are harmless and what they need is help, guidance and support rather than being banged up in a cell.'
David Harewood: Psychosis And Me airs at 9pm on Thursday May 16th on BBC Two
