Joel Edgerton on being a good and bad guy in real life: 'I've been the victim of bullying and a bully'

Joel Edgerton has spent 20 years playing good guys and bad guys onscreen, and in his new movie The Gift, he's scarily effective being a little of both.

The 41-year-old LA-based actor from Blacktown was back in Sydney to promote the psychological thriller he wrote, directed and stars in as a mysterious man who re-enters a former high-school classmate's life. That's when things get seriously creepy onscreen.

He told TheFIX he's had plenty of real-life practice perfecting various shades of grey in movies like Animal Kingdom, Warrior and his latest film, which explores the long-term effects of bullying.

Watch the video above to see him talk about his own bullying past, beating Meryl Streep at the US box office and doing a flawless American accent.

The Gift hits Australian cinemas on August 27.