Heath Ledger, Johnny Depp and other sensitive men

Commentary by Douglas Eby, creator of the Talent Development Resources site
http://talentdevelop.com/

Heath Ledger won an Academy Award for his creation of the Joker in The Dark Knight. His partner Michelle Williams said, "I think the interesting thing about Heath, which maybe people have only really fully discovered in his death, is how vulnerable he was.

"You can pick up on it in his performances, but its easy to overlook because he was so physical and beautiful and strong and masculine. But there was always that underlying sensitivity. That's who he was."

She also said, "He had too much energy. His mind was turning, turning, turning - always turning."

[nydailynews.com March 14th 2008]

Ledger's father once commented, "Heath doesn't want to even squash an ant. He worries about everything. He's very soft inside."

Johnny Depp, starring in Public Enemies, once commented in an interview, "I'm able to express better the feelings of those who are a little outside. I don't consider myself an outsider, but neither completely integrated in the society... Tim (Burton) and I share this kind of sensitivity, this way of understanding or not understanding the world."

[From DOUBLE JOHNNY, by L. Messina, D la Repubblica delle Donne, 25th September 2001]

Depp has talked about getting drunk earlier in his career to deal with his sensitivity and having to go to functions like press appearances: "I guess I was trying not to feel anything."

[From my article Gifted, Talented, Addicted.]
http://talentdevelop.com/articles/GTA.html

Author and researcher Dr. Elaine Aron notes the trait of high sensitivity is found in 15 to 20% of the population - just as many men as women. That means millions of us.

But, she adds, "Men really have to struggle to hide their sensitivity or they are seen as not very manly."

In a post on his site, Edward Mills writes about being "mostly stoic, emotionally unavailable, intellectually focused" but also discovering he is a highly sensitive person.

He says, "I have come to accept my sensitivity as a gift and a powerful ally on my journey of personal evolution."

Resources :

22 Signs That Youre A Highly Sensitive Person, by Edward Mills
http://www.evolvingtimes.com/2008/03/22-signs-highly-sensitive-person.htm

More articles by Douglas Eby
http://talentdevelop.com/articlelive/authors/4/Douglas-Eby

Highly Sensitive site
http://highlysensitive.org/

Category:

Education

Tags:

• sensitivity
• HSP
• psychology

[amberfwn]

I heard that Adrian Brody is an HSP also and I love him a lot like Depp. I wonder what Brody has to say about it.

[TalentDevelop]

Adrien Brody [about growing up in Queens, New York]: "I hung out with troublemakers. I was a sensitive teenage boy, who luckily had kind parents, but I lived in a not-so-kind neighborhood. In order to deal with it, I toughened up and became more of a hoodier kid. It was never malicious, that's not in my nature, but I was much harder than I am today. Had I not had parents I could talk to, it would have got out of hand." [source: imdb]

[bangthatdrumb]

@JesusSucksHorseCock thats the wierdest metaphor ive ever heard

[bangthatdrumb]

@bacelines i agree with the guy, so there

[Josephers]

At the beginning of the video, I thought the Joker was being dubbed with Batman's voice.

[rafapak]

@rjworks13

yes, they think little about us

[bacelines]

@rafapak what a load of rubbish. Dont make excuses.

[rafapak]

@rjworks13

hs males can't have good jobs. they can't go into law, medicine e.t.c. due to the condition of their bodies. potential for money therefore is poor. this is probably why they are seen as wussies. non hsps have mightier bodies for making money

[Jarobman]

Do a little research and find out what an "HSP" is. It is a lot more than what can be defined in an acronym. I think the poster has the wrong idea about using celebrities as a learning tool. I would hate to see the gift I share with many people, and suffered almost 30 years with reduced to just a celebrity fad. Most of us don't care about material things like money or celebrity status.

[rjworks13]

In western society, being a highly sensitive male is an absolute scourge - speaking from experience.

[JesusSucksHorseCock]

Elaine Aron's discussions about culture and HSPs is vitally important, particularly as they relate to male HSPs. In the US, male HSPs are very much looked down on. To be a male HSP in the US is to feel like a Geiger counter in a toolbox where only the hammers get laid.

[JesusSucksHorseCock]

@gdsenterprise I don't buy MJ as an HSP. When I think of MJ, I think of a pedophile.