Jonathan Rhys Meyers self-blame

19 November 2007 - Jonathan Rhys Meyers blamed himself for his parents' divorce.

The actor's father walked out on his mother, brother Alan and him when he was just three, taking Jonathan's two other brothers with him.

The 'Match Point' star - who was estranged from his father for over 20 years - found it extremely hard to accept his dad's rejection and was racked with guilt about the situation for most of his childhood.

He said: "I was just a kid and didn't have a dad. That's hard, because when you're a kid, you blame yourself for everything. And I blamed myself for him not being around, for my parents not being together."

Jonathan claims his anguish affected his schooling and he was eventually asked to leave when he was 15, much to his mother's dismay.

He added in an interview with Details magazine: "I wanted to do anything but be in school and that thing wasn't f***ing science, f***ing maths or f***ing history.

"When I got asked to leave, my mother had a go at me - she was livid. We didn't have any money, and she really believed education was important. She wouldn't have me sat around the house all day so I had to go and look for a job."

(C) BANG Media International