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Nathalie Emmanuel fought back tears as had her hair cut off.
The 33-year-old actress was chatting to her stylist as he chopped her afro into a pixie cut and explained to him that that this was the first time in her life she had made a decision about her own hairstyle.
She said: "I always wanted to cut my hair and I first asked my mum when I was 15 but then I went into acting and I then the job dictated what my hair did. So this is the first time in 33 years I've had like, I've made a decision about my hair that is completely my own. "
The former 'Game of Thrones' star was preparing her do for her appearance at the 2022 British Academy Television Craft Awards in London on Sunday (24.04.22) and shared the emotional process in a video posed to Instagram, which also revealed she had written a letter to her hair before chopping it off.
She added: "I think now because my hair is changing - you know how it changes every so often - I was like 'I'm going through this f****** change again. Why don't I just change it?' It's almost like when you think 'Oh I'll reach a certain weight and be happy'. It's a similar thought process, I've just gotta do it."
The West End star went on to explain in the caption to the post that she shared the video publicly to help others who have found themselves worrying about beauty standards.
Alongside the clip, she wrote: "So I did a thing…. And it was kind of a big deal for me. It’s not my usual vibe to post very personal videos of my life… especially of me CRYING. I wanted to share this for those who have experienced any kind of feelings of othering or hair discrimination and then had a long, tough journey to self acceptance or feelings of having no autonomy over yourself… or… worrying about not fitting certain beauty standards… Anyway… please be kind… me and my lil crop cut will be over here getting to know each other…(sic)"