Kat Dennings: 'Casting directors called me fat when I was a child'

Kat Dennings has revealed casting directors branded her "fat" and "not pretty enough" when she was a child.

The 38-year-old actress has enjoyed a lengthy career, but has insisted the path to success was sometimes painful. In a new interview with People, Dennings has recalled receiving "very cruel" feedback when she first started going to auditions.

"There was not a lot of inclusivity at all..." the star revealed. "There was a lot of extremely negative feedback and people would not hold back."

She added, "For example, I was 12. I'd go into an audition... and my manager would call me and I'd be like, 'How'd it go?' And they'd be like, 'Well, they thought you weren't pretty enough and you're fat.'"

Rather than getting upset about the feedback on her appearance, the 2 Broke Girls chose to ignore the criticism and move on.

"For some reason, it didn't break my spirit. I was like, 'I'll show them,'" she recalled. "I guess props to my parents, because they were like, 'They're idiots. Don't listen to them.'"

Elsewhere in the interview Dennings described the industry as "completely insane" when she first started acting.

She also shared her relief that attitudes within her profession have become "much softer, kinder" since she was a child star.

"There's body positivity, there's inclusivity, there's representation, and there was none of that before. It was really gross," she insisted.

Dennings' latest TV appearance is in Shifting Gears, in which she plays Riley, the estranged daughter of Matt, played by Tim Allen.

She's thrilled to be working with the acting icon, having been a fan of his movies including The Santa Clause and the Toy Story franchise.

"He's Santa Claus and Buzz Lightyear," the star shared. "He's a big part of my consciousness growing up, so it was very surreal to work with him, but in a great way, because he's a very kind person."