Swank 'was told to give up acting'

Hilary Swank has claimed that she has learnt how to deal with people's opinions about her.

The Amelia star told Moviehole that it is important to listen to constructive criticism.

"I had one teacher who told me, 'When are you going to give up your hobby [acting]?'" she said. "Look, everyone's going to have an opinion and when you're pursuing your dream and you have people... I had someone tell me I was too half-hour when I was trying to get into drama.

"There are types of opinions. But some of them - neither of those - can be constructive. I think you have to learn how to decipher what's constructive and what you can take in to incorporate into being a better actor or help you be successful."

However, Swank admitted that it can be difficult to deal with negative comments.

"As actors, we wear our hearts on our sleeves," she explained. "It's easy to have that bad stuff that's thrown at you... be upsetting."

> Click here to watch the trailer for Amelia