Nicholas Galitzine Once Thought His Lips Were 'Very Girlie': 'People Used to Say I Looked Like a Fish'

“I think I’ve always tried to detach myself from a self-image," revealed the England-born actor

Nicholas Galitzine confesses his lips were once one of his biggest insecurities.

In a recent interview with The Cut, the 29-year-old actor revealed he used to be self-conscious about his lips, saying, “People used to say I looked like a fish.”

The Mary & George star explained during the interview that although some would be envious of his lips, he used to think his full lips were “very girlie.”

He continued to confess that, along with his lips, he used to be self-conscious of his under-eye circles. The Idea of You actor shared that others thought he didn’t get enough sleep.

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“I think I’ve always tried to detach myself from a self-image because as soon as I landed in L.A., everyone’s so beautiful here,” he shared after noting that he finds it “impossible to sponge up compliments." Still, he confessed he does “like hearing them.”

Galitzine continued to share that after moving to L.A., he “decided the only thing that would nourish” him was to focus all of his “effort and energy into just trying to be a great artist and a great performer.”

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“The process of gaining lines — and freckles and expressions — in your old age can only give you more tools in your performance,” he said after sharing his excitement about aging.

Galitzine recently exclusively told PEOPLE at SXSW that for his upcoming role in The Idea of You — which he stars in opposite Anne Hathaway — he had to embody “the confidence of a pop star.”

In The Idea of You, an adaptation of Robinne Lee’s 2017 novel of the same name, he stars as 20-year-old Hayes, a world-famous boy band member who unexpectedly finds love with divorcée Soléne (Hathaway).

“The chemistry read was kind of transformative. As an actor you oftentimes go into those rooms with so much trepidation, and it was so open,” Galitzine recalled to PEOPLE about first meeting Hathaway. “And I kind of remember leaving the room going, 'You know, if this doesn't work out, I am really proud of the work that I did, even in this space.’ ”

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He explained to PEOPLE that he was “asked to bring a song and convince Annie to dance with me” during the chemistry read.

“And that was very anxiety-producing because I am not a dancer, and it's also hard, you know, you're meeting someone for the first time and you don't want it to be weird, but with those things you kind of have to go all in,” said the London native.

“And it was so open and I think it was really at that moment that we kind of knew that there was a connection — that there was a chemistry there and it was so much fun in that audition, which is rare to say,” he added.

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