Actor Will Poulter, who played the star video game designer on the buzzy choose-your-own-adventure Black Mirror episode, Bandersnatch, has announced he’s reconsidering how he uses social media in the wake of his “recent experiences.” He said he’s taking a “step back” from Twitter to focus on his mental health.
In a statement released on Twitter, Poulter said he thanked everyone for watching Bandersnatch, and added that he accepts “all criticisms.” He’s stepping away from social media due to his “recent experiences.” Though Poulter didn’t mention any specific experience, he may be referring to the reaction on social media to his character, a game designer named Colin Ritman who has some interesting ideas about the way the world works and conspiracy theories.
“In light of my recent experiences I am choosing to take a step back, of sorts, from Twitter. Before I do, I’d like to say a heartfelt thank you to everybody who has watched Bandersnatch and for their responses (whatever they may be) to the material we created. I accept all criticisms and it’s been a delight to learn that so many of you enjoyed what many people worked very hard to produce,” he said.
The statement continues: “As we all know there is a balance to be struck in our engagements with social media. There are positives to enjoy and inevitable negatives that are best avoided. It’s a balance I have struggled with for a while now and in the interest of my mental health I feel the time has come to change my relationship with social media.”
Poulter said he’ll continue to use social media to advocate for the various charitable organisations he works with for things like anti-bullying, but apart from that, it appears the actor is done with social media for now.
“I don’t want to appear unappreciative of all the amazing support I have received online for which I am genuinely so grateful, nor do I want my disengagement with social media to be at the expense of any of the organisations I am lucky to work with,” he said. “I am privileged to have this platform. I hope that this shift to reduce my personal expression and increase the focus on issues that matter will result in a better outcome for everyone. This is not the end. Consider it an alternative path.”
Poulter’s first major role was in Chronicles of Narnia: Voyage of the Dawn Treader in 2010. He’s since gone on to appear in the Oscar-winning movie The Revenant, along with The Maze Runner and Kathryn Bigelow’s Detroit.
In other news about Bandersnatch, Netflix has released a pair of neat behind-the-scenes features in which writer Charlie Brooker, some of the actors, and other creatives talk about how they made the unique episode that lets you choose how events play out.
As you can clearly tell, Bandersnatch was no small endeavour. It required a lot of work, and the extended production time led to a delay for Black Mirror Season 5.
