Sometimes, Hollywood isn't everything that you want it to be in your mind. The dreams and ideas you have within the industry may not look exactly how you want. Conversely, big, powerful types may subject you to mistreatment because of the gap in the power dynamic. For Gary Coleman, this was more than apparent, especially working as a child star.
Recently, Peacock releases a new documentary about Diff'rent Strokes actor Gary Coleman. There, they track the child star's life, from the sudden whiplash of fame to his lowest moments in adulthood. One segment in particular shows Coleman in a 1993 interview with Brad Lemack. By this point, Diff'rent Strokes had been done for 7 years. Unfortunately, the actor speaks despondently about his life and career. "If someone had told me my life would be like this, early enough where I could have gotten out, I would have gotten out. I would have had a normal life, and have friends," he sighs.
Gary Coleman Couldn't Stand The Hollywood System After a While
At its peak, Diff'rent Strokes brings in $100,000 per episode for Gary Coleman. However, the money doesn't stop him from feeling completely miserable. His identity was hardly his own by this point. For many, people solely know him as the character of Arnold Jackson. Consequently, all they want from him is to hear "Whatchu talkin' about, Willis?"
That's the case for people in public but that's also something he grapples with professionally at the time. He would show up on The Fresh Prince of Bel Air and Married... With Children solely because producers and executives want Arnold Jackson instead of Gary Coleman. Sure, he's making money but it leaves him depressed.
The 1993 interview sees Gary 'fantasize' about life if he didn't pick up acting. "Because now here we are in 1993, I'm 25 years old, I'm a world-renowned celebrity. There's no place I can go where someone doesn't know me. I handle it because I'm a public figure," Coleman explains. "I'm supposed to be gracious, and have fun doing what I do. I love the work. I truly love making people laugh. But of course, there are aspects of the business that I don't really care for."
By 1999, Coleman hits rock bottom and files for bankruptcy. He spends the following years feeling miserable, family extorting him for money and opportunities drying up fast. Eventually, Gary rebounds in the mid to late 2000s. However, he dies in 2010 after a rough fall leaves him with an intracranial hemorrhage.
