Jonah Hill has announced that he will not be taking part in press for any of his films moving forward, in an effort to protect his mental health. The actor, who has publicly spoken out about body shaming in the past, opened up about experience of living with anxiety and explained his decision to step away from movie promo in an open letter first published by Deadline.

Hill has just finished directing his second feature, a mental health documentary entitled Stutz, and in the letter he explains how making the film helped him come to a realization about his own mental state.

"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," he wrote. "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."

He went on to say that while he is grateful to have the opportunity to present Stutz at a "prestigious film festival" later this year, he will not be taking part in the promotional tour, as this kind of activity is an anxiety trigger.

"If I made myself sicker by going out there and promoting it, I wouldn’t be acting true to myself or to the film," he said, adding: "I understand that I am of the privileged few who can afford to take time off. I won’t lose my job while working on my anxiety... I’m hoping to make it more normal for people to talk and act on this stuff. So they can take steps towards feeling better and so that the people in their lives might understand their issues more clearly."