Max Casella’s acting career nearly came crashing down in his mid-20s due to a growth hormone deficiency.
The “Sopranos” alum, 59, revealed that he didn’t go through puberty until he was 27, following medical intervention.
“It was insane,” he told Page Six at the Cinema Society screening of “Jimmy” earlier this week.
“Wouldn’t have been my choice, but you know, given the cards you’re dealt. You make the best of it.”
Casella, who played Benny Fazio on the hit HBO series, admitted that his career “was pretty much dead” after he began experiencing the awkward physical changes most people go through as teenagers.
“I went through the awkward phase that most people go through in high school” while already an established actor, he explained.
“I had to start all over again. It was a humiliating experience,” he said.
The “Doogie Howser, M.D.” alum confessed that he struggled to adjust to his changing appearance.
“I didn’t wear it well right away,” he shared.
“You know what happens to especially boys when they go through puberty. They get awkward and zits and fat, chubby, whatever.”
However, Casella credited landing the role of Timon in the original Broadway production of “The Lion King” with helping him navigate the difficult transition.
“I was dancing 8 times a week,” he explained, “and I completely became an adult.”
Casella now stars in “Jimmy,” a biographical film chronicling Jimmy Stewart’s experiences as a combat pilot during World War II and his eventual return to Hollywood, where he starred in the beloved 1946 film “It’s a Wonderful Life.”
Casella portrays “It’s a Wonderful Life” director Frank Capra opposite KJ Apa, who plays Stewart.
The “Boardwalk Empire” alum told Page Six that he immersed himself in research to prepare for the role.
“I read his book,” he said. “I watched some documentaries about him. What I was really trying to find out is how to play him. What kind of a person is he? How does he smoke a cigarette? How does he sit in a chair?”
“Just get a vibe from, you know. There’s not a lot of footage of him at the time when he was younger, so it was challenging.”
Other guests at the screening and afterparty at The Skylark included Apa, Lucy Liu, Dan Abrams, “Riverdale” star Trinity Likins, “1923” star Jamie McShane and “Stranger Things” star Catherine Curtin.
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