Jonah Hill Won’t Promote Future Films Because of Anxiety, Says He Would Become “Sicker” If He Did

Jonah Hill is putting his mental health front and center, which means we’ll be seeing a little less of the prolific actor. Hill, who has been working in the film industry for nearly 20 years, is pulling himself out of the spotlight and not promoting his latest film, a documentary about mental health called Stutz.

Hill, who directed and stars in the movie, gets candid about his emotional wellbeing and his struggle with panic attacks in Stutz, whose title was inspired by his therapist. While Stutz will premiere at film festivals this fall, Hill won’t be there to push his latest project, according to Deadline.

The Wolf of Wall Street and Superbad star shared a statement with the outlet explaining his decision to opt out of press tours for Stutz, citing his anxiety attacks. Hill also won’t promote You People, his upcoming Kenya Barris Netflix comedy.

In Hill’s statement to Deadline, he shares that working on Stutz helped him reach the decision not to participate in press tours. He writes, “The whole purpose of making this film is to give therapy and the tools I’ve learned in therapy to a wide audience for private use through an entertaining film,” adding, “Through this journey of self-discovery within the film, I have come to the understanding that I have spent nearly 20 years experiencing anxiety attacks, which are exacerbated by media appearances and public facing events.”

Hill states that he’s “grateful” for Stutz‘s festival premiere, but notes that he has to take a break from promoting Stutz and future films “to protect myself,” explaining, “If I made myself sicker by going out there and promoting it, I wouldn’t be acting true to myself or to the film.”

While he won’t be walking the red carpet or chatting with journalists for a while, Hill is not retiring, he clarified, so we can expect more comedic gold and deep drama from the actor in the near future.

Head to Deadline to read Hill’s letter in full.