Will Poulter has been an always welcome presence in movies and TV since he was a kid. Well before fare like We’re the Millers, Midsommar, Bandersnatch, and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, he gave one of the better kid performances in 2007’s Son of Rambow. He’s also an occasional fixture of internet discussion, with people discussing his looks. He knows all about that. And he knows that some have compared him to Sid, the aggro baddie from the first Toy Story. In fact, someone recently pointed out the faint resemblance to him, in person, in a bathroom.
“A guy at a urinal in LA last week turned to me and said, ‘You’re in Toy Story, right?’” Poulter told GQ (in a bit caught by Entertainment Weekly). “And I was like, “Well, that was animated.’” He pointed out that Toy Story came out in 1995. “I was two. And they weren’t doing it through live action.”
Poulter knows that one of the him-related memes involves him dressed up as the villainous kid. In fact, the meme comes from a picture he took of himself, back when he dressed up as the character for anti-bullying week back in 2017. Alas, that one wound up backfiring a bit, adding fuel to an already raging fire.
HAPPY HALLOWEEN pic.twitter.com/et8nbbd1Em
— Will Poulter (@PoulterWill) October 29, 2017
Even though Poulter jokes about it, he has mixed feelings about public discussion of his looks.
“It was weird when people started to debate my physical appearance online as to whether it was deemed attractive or unattractive I am very comfortable and secure in the knowledge that I’m not conventionally attractive as I’ve always had remarks about looking unusual—whether it’s my eyebrows or whatever else, people have made a thing of that. I think it just speaks to a wider issue, of: Why are we discussing or spending so much time discussing people’s physical appearance? Especially in the case of women. But whether you’re male or female, why is that the focus so much? Unfortunately, social media has created this problematic idea that everyone’s opinion on everything matters equally.”