Chris Rock has shared that he has been diagnosed with a learning disorder that went undiagnosed until adulthood.
In his recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter, the comedian-actor revealed that he was diagnosed with a nonverbal learning disorder (NVLD), after a nine-hour series of cognitive tests this year.
Chris Rock, 55, said the NVLD, which is normally diagnosed in childhood, causes difficulty with motor, visual-spatial, and social skills.
The actor said that the condition means he faces challenges interpreting nonverbal signals in social situations.
He said “All I understand are the words.”
“By the way, all of those things are really great for writing jokes — they’re just not great for one-on-one relationships.” Chris Rock continued.
“I’d always just chalked it up to being famous. Any time someone would respond to me in a negative way, I’d think, ‘Whatever, they’re responding to something that has to do with who they think I am.’ Now, I’m realizing it was me. A lot of it was me.”
Chris Rock also revealed that he undergoes seven hours of therapy every week, when he’s also working on processing childhood traumas, as well.
“I thought I was actually dealing with it, and the reality is I never dealt with it,” said the comedian. “The reality was the pain and the fear that that brought me, I was experiencing it every day.”
The ‘Longest Yard’ actor also opened up about learning to swim for the first time as an adult.
“Do you know how f***in hard it is for a grownup to learn how to swim? You’ve got to not be scared to die,” he said. “The other day, this guy says to me, ‘Okay, you’re going to dive into the deep end and swim to the other side,’ and I’m like, ‘Are you f***in crazy?'”
“But then I dove into the deep end and I swam to the other side, and it’s a metaphor for what I’ve been trying to do during this time,” added Chris Rock.
The comedian also featured on The Hollywood Reporter’s cover, ahead of the Sept. 27 release of Fargo Season 4.
