Paddy Considine - Paddy Considine Relieved After Asperger Syndrome Diagnosis

The Bourne Ultimatum star admits he struggled for years to get by with the condition, characterised by communication and social difficulties, which left him feeling a "debilitating sense of detachment" from his peers and even affected his acting.

He tells Britain's Sunday Telegraph, "I got through with my ability to mimic others and make people laugh. I swaggered through life but, in reality, I lived in fear pretty much every day. I acted like a completely normal person, and I suppose I was good at it. But, inside, it was a very different story...

"Basic interaction with people - the touch of strangers - becomes a problem. My response is to retreat into myself. With a script, I just can't get past the words. They start to float in front of my eyes and I can't pull them down or animate them. It can lead to me giving a very withdrawn performance."

Considine sought the help of a specialist last year (10) and he insists the diagnosis has helped him learn to cope.

He adds, "For a few weeks after the diagnosis, I was wandering around thinking, 'Who the hell am I?' But naming my problem has helped me a lot. It's allowed me to make sense of so many things I didn't understand before - and is allowing me to move forward with my life."