Christina Hendricks has become one of the biggest sex symbols of our generation, and in the role of Joan Harris on Mad Men, she’s become one of television’s biggest stars. But the actress says things weren’t always so great for her, and in high school she was bullied.

“We had a locker bay, and every time I went down there to get books out of my locker people would sit on top and spit at me. So I had to have my locker moved because I couldn’t go in there…I felt scared in high school. It was like Lord of the Flies. There was always some kid getting pummeled and people cheering,” she said.

Hendricks says that one of the ways she dealt with the ridicule and negative attention was to become goth, which her mother warned her against, saying she would push people away.

“I don’t want those people to be my friends. I’m never going to be friends with the people who beat up a kid while everyone is cheering them on. I hate them,'” Hendricks told her mother.

It’s extremely hard to believe now that anyone would bully Hendricks, but the difficult high school years often play a part in the future of the most talented artists. Being in a creative field such as acting, she says, helped her get past it.

Hendricks opened up recently about a near-miss when it came to starring on Mad Men, saying her former talent agency dropped her for wanting to take a role on a show they didn’t think would make it.

“I had been on several shows that were meant to be the big ones, that would go on forever…and they didn’t….why not do the one you’re in love with and take a chance on that?” she said.

Image via Wikimedia Commons