The real reason Rebel Wilson became an actress

Rebel Wilson was "unusually shy" as a child so enrolled in an acting class and it quickly helped her "find self-esteem." Photo / AP

Rebel Wilson became an actress because she wanted more friends.

The 36-year-old actress was "unusually shy" as a child so enrolled in an acting class and it quickly helped her "find self-esteem".

She told Britain's Marie Claire magazine: "I didn't become an actress because I wanted to be famous, I did it because I was so unusually shy bordering on a social disorder.

"So my mum - one day she drives me to this community acting class. I was holding on to the car door and crying. She had to peel me off the car ... good on my mum for seeing I had a problem.

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Sooooo much fun working with this incredible cast! And singing such incredible material! Thanks Norm, Josh, Darren, Sara, Sandy, Titus and John ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️ and Thanks Alan Menken for being such a lovely genius x ps final show MONDAY at the Hollywood Bowl!!

A post shared by Rebel Wilson (@rebelwilson) on Jun 5, 2016 at 10:00am PDT

"She might not have dealt with it in the most delicate of ways but I was sick of not having any friends.

"That's why the creative arts are so important for young people. You can find self-esteem."

The Pitch Perfect star has never tried to compete with the glamour of Hollywood and would rather use her brain to get ahead.

She said: "I've always used my brain to try to get to places - there's so many glamorous people in Hollywood I just never want to compete with that ... even the men get their skin lasered."

Rebel recently admitted she is "on the lookout" for a boyfriend but fears she is too independent.

She said: "I'm very independent. To the point where I'm too independent. If you're a successful woman you want to find the right person, but you don't necessarily need them.

"I don't want to settle for someone if they're not right but, because I get to do such awesome fun stuff all the time, I really want to share that with somebody. We'll see. I'm definitely on the look out. I'm trying to put it out there, but I don't know whether the right person is in Hollywood - you only meet actors or musicians here."

- Bang! Showbiz