Kodi Smit-McPhee has been left blind in one eye after developing a cataract but was too busy with work to seek medical treatment in time. The 28-year-old actor, nominated for an Academy Award for The Power of the Dog (2021), revealed that he was diagnosed with ankylosing spondylitis at 18. The condition, which causes inflammation, pain, and stiffness, also affected his left eye. However, caught up in a demanding film schedule, he kept delaying a visit to the doctor. By the time he finally sought medical attention, the damage was irreversible.

“Ironically, I was playing a superhero in X-Men and working on action films like Alpha, but I was going through tough times,” he told The Telegraph. “I kept putting off my appointment, overthinking everything, and by the time I went back, the cataract had done too much damage. My eye went into atrophy, and now I can’t see anything from it.” Kodi also spoke about how emotional struggles may have contributed to his health issues. He recalled experiencing “suppressed trauma” from his early success as a child actor and the breakdown of his parents’ marriage during his teenage years.

“I put a lot of pressure on myself to take care of my family, even though no one expected me to. Acting was an amazing experience, but I also saw it as a way to ‘save’ everyone. When my family fell apart—my sister moved out, my parents split—I felt like I had failed. I realized I had only secured my own future, and that felt selfish. It gave me a deep sense of impostor syndrome,” he admitted.

Disclaimer: This image is taken from Instagram/Kodi Smit-McPhee.