The `Rango` star - who has children Lily-Rose, 11, and eight-year-old Jack with long-term partner Vanessa Paradis - used to shut himself away when he was younger because he never felt like he fitted in.

He admitted: "When I was growing up I felt a complete freak. Very strange. I felt weird at five. At the age of 12 it was me against the world.

"I remember locking myself in my bedroom and playing my guitar. It seemed like I was in there for two or three years."

However, the 47-year-old actor has learned to accept himself since finding love with Vanessa 12 years ago, and admits he views his life in two stages, before and after meeting the French singer-and-actress.

He explained: "The most important thing is that Vanessa has made me not have to pretend any more about who I am. I feel comfortable with myself.

"My life is divided in two. In the time before I met Vanessa, I was searching for something.

"Since our time together I have found it. She keeps me calm. There were times when I was burning inside."
sections: Celebrities