The Nest actor James Harkness has revealed he was attacked with an axe on his 18th birthday in Pollokshaws. 

Speaking on The Two Shot podcast, James told how he suffers from panic attacks since being assaulted as a teenager. 

James, from the Gorbals, said the ordeal led him into his career as an actor and that he has no hard feelings towards the culprit. 

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He said: “I never really dealt with it. I came back to Glasgow once and I drove by the flats by accident and I think that was the day the anxiety started.

“I literally had a panic attack and was lying down on the back seat of the car shaking, rattling, and I was like, ‘We have to get out of here.’ It was mad.

Glasgow Times:

“I get anxiety over nothing now. I’ll be walking down the street and there’s a guy on the phone and I’ll be anxious for him. You just have to manage it and remind yourself where you are in life and what you’ve got."

The dispute with the Pollokshaws gang broke out over a stolen phone. 

James admitted he armed himself with the axe before it was taken off of him by the gang member who struck him on his arm and hands. 

He told the podcast how he became involved in violence and drug taking as a teenager and didn’t want his attacker to go to jail.

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"I said to the cops, ‘I’m not putting any of these boys in jail.’ Because I was part of that environment as well."

Making a success of his career, the 30-year-old went on to study at London Academy of Music and Performing Arts where he landed roles in Star Wars film Rogue One, Netflix series The Beautiful Game and BBC drama The Victim.