Stuttering, are you? You are not alone! Disappointed about it? Well, approximately an average of 1% of every country’s population stutters. Forget other countries, but that means ten lakhs of fellow Indians are with you. But yet you think about various things that you cannot do because of stammering? You feel embarrassed when you experience a speech block in front of your peers or friends? You are upset when you stammer during an office meeting or while talking to a client in your business? You think that you could have been a much successful person, only if you had not been stammering? You think that stammering is the greatest barrier on your path to success and achieving your goals..? If any of the above thoughts ever crossed your mind, then this write-up is there to prove you wrong. 

In this write-up, I am going to discuss some of the world-famous celebrities, who have had stammering problem. Who have been / or still stammer, but have yet reached the pinnacle of their career and made a mark of their own in their respective fields. Stammering never stopped them. It never dropped their shoulders.

Read on the wonderful stories about these ‘Stammering Idols’

Hrithik Roshan

This name may not surprise you. Hrithik and his stutter has been the most talked about thing off late, after the interview that aired on TV, where Hrithik spoke his heart out about his stammering.

His stammering problem had also been the most spoken thing and was very much highlighted by the media, when his destiny turned him into an overnight star. He was confident in his interviews, reached out his fans at ease, and had an attitude and charisma that reflected a promising talent, which threatened to rule the film industry for many years to come.

And yet, he was a shy and introvert as a kid and adolescent, because he stammered. His speech problem gave daddy Rakesh Roshan some jitters, who dreamt of seeing his son become an actor. He was laughed at when he used to say (or stutter) that he wants to become an actor. But it was Hrithik’s determination that helped him overcome his stammering. He had a burning desire of becoming an actor, and he knew that he cannot afford to stammer, be shy and introvert in this show-biz industry. He decided to have a make-over. His therapist once revealed in an interview that Hrithik was so determined, that he read and recited various dialogues watching him in front of a mirror. He also practised saying letters in all possible ways he could. He used to practice dedicatedly for long hours, and he still does it, for an hour a day! He broke out of his shell, and overcame his shyness too.

Today, we have a star in Hrithik whose fan-following is enormous not only in India, but throughout the world. The scene in “Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gham”, wherein he fluently delivers a tongue-twister is an inspiration to all the stammering people of the world.

Rowan Atkinson

If this name doesn’t ring a bell to your ears, then his screen name will. He is the Mr. Bean of the silver screen. Yes, Rowan Atkinson is the one who portrays the world-famous comic character Mr. Bean. The Mr. Bean TV series and his series of movies have created waves in comedy.

In early 1976, Rowan studied electrical engineering in Oxford University. When the students would meet to discuss sketch material for the summer review, there was this lad, an odd electric engineer PhD student, who always turned up but failed to utter a single word. In the final meeting, this lad read out a rather feeble sketch.

Then the dark and silent horse stood up and overcame his stutter. He did a monologue about “driving”, followed by the thing he still does now, where he mimes and talks at the same time. The act was pure genius and received a massive response.

Within three years, Rowan Atkinson was a star. This shy farmer’s son had grown up obsessed with all things electrical. He found himself locked away in his room at Oxford with a fusing iron, making an electric organ. Comedy was almost an accident in Rowan’s career.

By 1979 Rowan Atkinson was appearing in the sketch show “Not the Nine O'Clock News” alongside Mel Smith, Griff Rhys Jones and Pamela Stephenson. “Not the Nine O'Clock News” didn’t make great waves in the business but it showcased a new generation of comic talent in Rowan Atkinson.

The Mr. Bean series has now made Rowan Atkinson a sensation in the world of comedy.

Gareth Paul Gates

The name may not sound familiar if you are not an English citizen. But this singer hailing from Bradford, England, became a house-hold name when he was the runner’s up in the first series of the ITV talent show, The Pop Idol. Gates overcame a stutter through the McGuire program, qualifying as a Speech coach in 2004. This singing sensation also helps people tackle stammering and spreads awareness about the same.

Gareth Paul messed it up miserably when he first appeared in front of the judges during the auditions of the pop-idol. When asked his name, he stuttered miserably, and it took him about 3 to 4 minutes to utter his name! But when he started with his singing, he left everyone on the panel spell-bound. And when he went on to become a runner-up, he commenced his path to stardom.

In the early part of Gareth's career, it was accepted that he had a stammer, and therefore he didn't give spoken interviews. And when he did concerts, he spoke to his fans by texting on his mobile phone. But it wasn't long before Gareth decided that he wanted to at the very least, master his stammer, and talk to his fans, and give interviews.

It was then that he took time off from his career to enroll on the McGuire programme. He didn't expect his stammer to magically disappear, that doesn't usually happen, but he did want to be in charge of it and not the other way round. He learned a completely new way of breathing, which explained why he didn't stammer when singing. When he had completed the course, he was so grateful for the freedom of being able to express himself, which is why he studied to be a speech coach, so that he could help other people similarly affected.

Gareth's stammer is not cured entirely, and probably never will be. He has good days and bad days. Interviews are still very hard for him because he has such a busy career, he doesn't always have time to do the warm up exercises. But he has grit and determination, and he does not allow this challenge to stop him from achieving his dream.

But the most inspiring thing about Gareth is that when asked what he felt was his greatest achievement, without hesitation he quickly answers “Raising awareness of stammering”. He says he knows how frustrated it is to be unable to put thoughts into words. He believes all his other achievements seem to pale into insignificance, when contrasted with the idea that other people are helped and inspired by his example.

Tiger Woods

You may or may not follow golf, but you will certainly know Tiger Woods as the top-ranked golfer. And if you did not know, Tiger Woods also had to fight stammering as a child.

In an interview to the press, Tiger Woods once revealed that he fought stammering by going to a school and working his tail off. He said that it takes hard work and a competitive spirit to overcome childhood stammering.

Tiger Woods is the latest example of how many hours of practice and hard work to win in sports are no different from those long hours spent in therapy for stuttering says Jane Fraser, president of a non-profit Stuttering Foundation.

......The list can go on and on, about celebrities / successful people who had a stutter. Senator Joe Biden, who is Barack Obama’s deputy, stammered as a child and in his teens. Sir Winston Churchill, who led England to victory in World War II had a severe stutter. Abraham Lincoln, Adolf Hitler, they all had a stammer. Well known Hollywood actors such as Bruce Willis, Julia Roberts and Marilyn Monroe, all dealt with stammering in the earlier part of their lives. Bollywood stars of the yesteryears, Dilip Kumar and Kishor Kumar were also the prey of this problem.

NBA Hall of fame and basket-ball commentrator, Bill Walton says he dealt with stammering like he dealt with Basketball – “Starting with the basics, and just duplicate the moves on the court”.

James Stewart, the famous American film actor, cured his stammering by placing a stone inside his mouth.

Patrick Campbell, a journalist by profession, but anchored a TV-show, and couldn’t completely disguise his stammering while doing so, but still pulled it off.

Some more names even include King George VI, Claudius Caesar (classic TV actor), Lewis Carroll (Author), Isaac Newton (of the laws of gravity fame) all had a stammer, but yet it didn’t stop them.

My sole intension to have this write-up is to inspire people. I strongly believe that it basically helps in having role-models, in any field. But it helps more when it comes to tackle this serious speech impediment. When we peep into the lives of all these stammering achievers our minds overflow with inspirations that stammering is not a barrier to one’s path to success. If they can do it, then so can we!!!

Harish Usgaonkar

(no less an idol !)