Joel Edgerton not proud of school antics

Joel Edgerton dived back into his high school years for The Gift.

The star wrote, directed and appears in the thriller as Gordo, a man who hounds newly-married couple Simon and Robyn (Jason Bateman and Rebecca Hall) claiming to be an old school acquaintance of Simon's. In keeping with the title, Gordo presents mysterious presents to the pair, eventually unravelling a dark secret.

As he penned the screenplay Joel looked back at his own childhood and teenage years, reflecting on the ups and down of education.

"To be honest, like in the development of the script, I had to really remember my high school years and go, 'There were times where I wasn't a good person.' There were times where I felt the threat of navigating school, trying to avoid certain people who were bullying me. So I could understand both sides of the coin," he explained to HuffPost Live.

He jokes that his high school antics were similar to those of character Kevin Arnold in TV show The Wonder Years, which follows the teenager encountering life-changing moments such as first love.

However, Joel wasn't as vulnerable as Kevin and knew how to go about keeping safe among the tougher students.

"I wouldn't call myself a bully. I wasn't like your typical [kind of bully who was] waiting around the corner to try to steal some kid's lunch or whatever, but I remember being part of that pack mentality, which is all fear-based," he added. "It's like if I can be part of the group, then I'll survive. And if I'm part of the group, unfortunately sometimes it means excluding other kids. That's definitely a form of bullying."

The Gift hits cinemas in the UK and US next month.