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The School of Greatness

Fear, Shame, and the Fight to Get Out of Your Own Way | Joel Kinnaman

The School of Greatness

Lewis Howes

Mindset, Relationships, Entrepreneurship, Mental Health, Education, Greatness, Fitness, Celebrity, Health, Inspiration, Success, Health & Fitness, Self-improvement, Business, Money, Self Care, Celebrity Interview

4.822K Ratings

🗓️ 27 May 2026

⏱️ 88 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Joel Kinnaman, Swedish-American actor known for The Killing, Robocop, For All Mankind (season 5), Altered Carbon, and House of Cards, opens up about battling anorexia, debilitating stage fright, panic attacks, and self-loathing while building a 16-year Hollywood career. He discusses overcoming performance anxiety through radical preparation, the psilocybin experiences that accelerated his self-awareness, and why success in his career has not translated to consistency in his personal relationships.

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0

I was having a panic attack in front of the whole school.

0:05.0

I, like, blacked out on stage.

0:07.0

And then I started stumbling on the word, and I was like,

0:10.0

I couldn't quite latch on.

0:12.0

And then finally, I, like, stood up and I went like,

0:16.0

Fess!

0:17.0

And then I walked off.

0:18.0

The whole school was just sitting watching me, like, oh, he's having an emotional breakdown.

0:23.8

He is an actor who has started some of Hollywood's biggest franchises.

0:28.4

But behind the action hero, exterior is a man who has had to do the inner work

0:32.8

in order to achieve the level of success that he has achieved.

0:36.3

We have the inspiring Joel Kinnaman in the house.

0:40.3

I was in the abyss. Something in me is telling me that I can't do this. I can't eat. I'm throwing up and now I'm having panic attacks. My constitution can't handle this.

0:50.3

How have you been able to navigate eating disorder, stage fright, and panic attacks while also being at the top of Hollywood?

0:58.0

So I started thinking about like these like forces in me what would provoke them the most? Like let's go to fucking war

1:07.0

You've been a massive star and you've had an incredible career, and right now you have three

1:13.9

different shows on TV. You've got multiple shows and productions. You are one of the most

1:19.3

in-demand actors out there. But you've also talked about a few different things with me and also

1:24.5

publicly. One, an eating disorder that you've had in the past.

1:28.8

Debilitating stage fright, which I wasn't even aware of that, and panic attacks.

1:32.1

Yeah.

1:32.7

But you have been able to be so like on top of your game and accomplish and achieve and perform so well under pressure.

...

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