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Real talk. Tulsa King<\/em> star Max Casella<\/strong> opened up about his pituitary dwarfism diagnosis \u2014 and how it kept him from hitting puberty until he was 27 years old.<\/p>\n \u201cI was given testosterone,\u201d Casella, now 55, told Page Six<\/em> <\/a>on Wednesday, November 9. \u201cI was on growth hormones; I\u2019m still on those things. My body didn\u2019t go through the change by itself.\u201d<\/p>\n The Newsies<\/em> star explained that because he has a \u201cmalfunctioning pituitary gland from birth,\u201d he was forced to \u201cjumpstart my own puberty\u201d by getting pumped \u201cfull of testosterone and growth hormones\u201d in order to grow.<\/p>\n He noted, \u201cI was 25, and I hadn\u2019t even shaved.\u201d<\/p>\n Pituitary dwarfism is when the pituitary gland fails to produce an adequate supply of growth hormone which is essential for normal childhood development, according to Johns Hopkin\u2019s Medicine<\/a> \u2014 and is something that Casella referred to as \u201ca horror show.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI couldn\u2019t talk about it. No one understood it,\u201d he told Page Six<\/em> on Wednesday. \u201cIt\u2019s like the trans community today talks about body dysmorphia and feeling like, \u2018I\u2019m in the wrong body,\u2019 absolutely my experience. Absolutely. I was a man trapped in a little boy\u2019s body throughout most of my 20s until they finally pumped me full of testosterone.\u201d<\/p>\n While the Washington D.C. native admitted that delaying puberty allowed him to land roles meant for younger actors \u2014 he was cast as 16-year-old Vinnie on Doogie Houser M.D<\/em><\/a>. at age 21 \u2014 it was still a challenge, especially at such an impressionable age.<\/p>\n Now, Casella is gearing up to star in Parmount+\u2019s new series Tulsa King alongside Sylvester Stallone<\/strong><\/a>. While Casella has acted in a multitude of blockbuster films\u00a0\u00a0\u2014 including Newsies<\/em> and Sgt. Bilko<\/em>, in which he starred opposite Christian Bale<\/strong><\/a> and Steve Martin<\/strong><\/a>, respectively \u2014 the Good Fight<\/em> alum still referred to working with Stallone, 76, as an \u201calmost s\u2013t in your pants moment.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI had his poster on my wall when I was 10 years old, and now I\u2019m acting with him? It\u2019s surreal,\u201d he gushed to Page Six. \u201cI\u2019ve acted with a lot of big stars: Leonardo DiCaprio<\/strong><\/a>, Brad Pitt<\/strong><\/a>, Johnny Depp<\/strong><\/a>. Sometimes it\u2019s up or down, your experience with them, but nobody like Sly, who was such a superhero to my 10-year-old self. This was like my boyhood dream.\u201d<\/p>\n Despite his jitters, Casella shared that his experience with the Rocky<\/em> star<\/a> couldn\u2019t have been a more pleasurable. \u201cHe made me feel comfortable because at his core, I think he\u2019s a blue-collar guy. He\u2019s got a blue-collar work ethic, and he respects hard work,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n