Toby Lee says this incident traumatised him so badly that it affected his behaviour around others. Photo: Handout
Taiwanese actor Toby Lee, who starred in the Netflix series Shards Of Her – which tells the story of a girl revisiting her childhood trauma – recently opened up about his own childhood trauma.
On Dec 1, China Times reported that Lee was kidnapped by his biological father when he was a child.
“My parents divorced when I was really young. I didn’t know my father well. One day while I was wandering around this fishing village, my dad dragged me into a car. I kept hitting the window and screaming but he didn’t let me go,” Lee explained.
The Miss Truth actor revealed that he wandered with his father for several years. However, his father would often leave him to fend for himself on the streets.
“Whenever I got hungry, I would scavenge for food in garbage cans. Many kids mocked me for smelling bad,” Lee said, adding that he only returned to his normal life after his mother found him.
The 35-year-old Taiwanese star admitted that this incident traumatised him so badly it affected his behaviour around others.
“I’ve always harboured negativity in my heart since then. I never understood why I was abandoned and ignored by my father. I didn’t understand why I was treated this way. I couldn’t even love others because I didn’t know how to,” he shared.
The Never Gone actor would meditate daily to relieve his anxiety. It wasn’t until his father passed away in 2020 that his hatred for his father began to dissipate.
“At some point, I realised it’s not that he doesn’t want to be my father, but he just doesn’t know how to be one,” he said.
Lee mentioned that starring in Shards Of Her greatly helped him in his healing journey as it allowed him to “be more honest with himself”.
“I hope that people who are currently struggling with trauma reconcile with themselves. It’s one of the ways to truly be freed,” he explained.
Despite having a traumatic childhood, Lee assured that he isn’t afraid to be a father.
“I long to have a complete family and get the opportunity to be a good father to my child,” he concluded.
