Patrick Stewart credits films for helping him escape childhood pain

London: Actor Patrick Stewart has revealed that he has movies to thank for helping him escape harsh realities when he was young.The ‘Star Trek’ star, who grew up with an abusive dad, made the revelation to a group of students from St Charles Sixth Form College as he launched National Schools Film Week in London.

"My home life wasn’t very pleasant, and not fun, so getting out, not being at home, especially to have the opportunity to escape into a fantasy world was bliss," said the Telegraph quoted him as saying. "I was one of the Saturday morning cinema kids. It was always packed with yelling kids. You would watch short movies - usually westerns - and then you would watch serials with a different cliff-hanger, so there’d be a new episode every Saturday morning. I loved those serials, and Westerns," he added. The 69-year-old also said: "I hated it when the movie or the Saturday morning ended, and I had to go back to real life. So, in a sense I was being set up for being an actor, for entering this world of make-believe." ANI