We all know how tough it can be to get through a standard work day when we're dealing with
tough personal circumstances.
Many of your favorite actors may have dealt with dark nights of the soul while still showing
up to work every day, only in their cases, the record is there for all to see.
Since 2009, Reid Ewing has appeared on the ABC sitcom Modern Family as Haley's boyfriend
Dylan.
He landed the role at 21, when he was struggling with what he now knows to be a body dysmorphia
disorder.
Since his early teens, the handsome actor hasn't been able to look in a mirror without
seeing a horribly ugly person staring back.
Ewing had his first plastic surgery at the age of 19.
More procedures followed, each one causing a new perceived problem that he felt could
only be fixed by more surgery.
He eventually sought help after experiencing suicidal depression in 2012.
With the aid of therapy and medication, he's come to understand his disorder while working
as an advocate for those suffering from it.
"And I remember looking at that photo, and that was the moment where I said I had to
get, you know, cosmetic surgery because, like, no one was allowed to be that ugly."
Irish actor Devon Murray had the luck, or perhaps misfortune, of beginning his career
with a role in one of the most beloved film franchises of all time.
At 11 years old, he was cast as Seamus Finnegan in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone,
a role he'd reprise in all eight films in the series.
This might seem like a dream gig, but the prolonged periods of separation from his friends
and family in Ireland eventually took a toll on the young star.
In an interview with Irish National Broadcaster RTE, Murray elaborated:
"It was my 16th birthday and I was staying in this fantastic hotel suite over in London
and my room was full of presents from everybody and I should have been happy but I wasn't."
Murray struggled with depression, and he very nearly committed suicide in early 2016.
He sought help at the urging of family, and has since spoken publicly about his experiences.
Team America: World Police is perhaps Trey Parker and Matt Stone's greatest film, a hilarious
satire of both action movies and American foreign policy.
It's a pretty remarkable achievement, especially considering that it nearly destroyed the lives
and partnership of its creators.
Stone famously vowed to never make another movie with puppets or Parker again, so toxic
was their working relationship on the film.
South Park is still going strong over a decade later, but Stone has remained true to his
word.
The duo have never made another film together, and even though the world is just screaming
for a Team America sequel right about now, it's unlikely in the extreme that we'll get
one.
The fatal overdose of River Phoenix in 1993 instantly cut short what was almost certain
to be a long and important acting career.
The 23-year old was the definition of a hot rising star, not to mention a prodigally gifted
actor, and few of his friends were hit harder than Keanu Reeves.
Reeves, who had been close friends with Phoenix for years and co-starred with him in My Own
Private Idaho, was at work on the set of Speed when he received the news.
Phoenix had developed his lethal drug addiction during the filming of Private Idaho, a role
Reeves had persuaded him to take.
The production of Speed was nearly shut down completely.
But it restarted after a short break, with cast and crew giving Reeves plenty of space
and consideration as he dealt with his grief.
The filming of Francis Ford Coppola's 1979 Vietnam War masterpiece Apocalypse Now was
legendarily taxing on everybody involved.
Coppola pushed cast and crew alike to their absolute limits, none more so than star Martin
Sheen.
For one infamous scene in a hotel room early in the film, Sheen was kept drunk for two
days while being goaded mercilessly by Coppola.
The actor became sick and lost weight, and during a break from filming, he openly admitted
to friends that he wasn't sure if he'd survive the shoot.
He finished the film having had a heart attack and a nervous breakdown, and at one point
he was so ill that a local priest administered last rites.
The late, great Robin Williams is a case study in how the funniest and most engaging people
can still struggle with serious physical and mental health issues.
The actor dealt with depression for much of his career while working constantly, and he
ended his own life in 2014 at the age of 63 after a prolonged battle with a degenerative
brain disorder called Lewy's body dementia.
It's likely that evidence of Williams' struggles could be found in a great deal of his body
of work, but one example late in his career stands out.
Released the year of his death, The Angriest Man in Brooklyn tells the story of a perpetually
raging New Yorker given 90 minutes to live after a brain aneurysm.
At one point, he goes on an extended rant about the meaninglessness and injustice of
life, and cinematographer John Bailey was taken aback while filming the scene.
He called the performance a glimpse into the "Swiftian darkness of Robin's heart," and
went so far as to call it his defining role.
If you're struggling with suicidal thoughts, please call the National Suicide Prevention
Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255.