Booboo Stewart Cut His Long Hair Off to 'Switch It Up' as His Locks 'Became So Much' of His 'Identity'
"I had finished the TV show I was on, [and] I was like, ‘OK. No more obligations.’ And, I shaved it,” he explained
Booboo Stewart is getting candid about why he cut his long hair.
The Good Trouble star — who first showed off a new buzz cut in February — opened up about his decision to drastically change his look for the latest episode of the Ned's Declassified Podcast Survival Guide.
“I just I had long hair for such a long time. Literally. It had to go,” Stewart, 30, shared, adding that he had the lengthy locks even when he was a kid and that his dad used to cut his and his sisters bangs.
His long hair eventually “became so much” of his “identity” in other people’s eyes, he said, noting that he just wanted to “switch it up.”
Related: Twilight Star Booboo Stewart Debuts Shocking Buzz Cut: See His Dramatic Hair Transformation
“When they thought of me, they're like, ‘Oh, the hair.’ You know?” he explained. “Like, ‘He has long hair. He's got long hair.’ ”
“And I just wanted to switch it up,” he continued. “I just was not feeling like that anymore. And I had finished the TV show I was on, [and] I was like, ‘OK. No more obligations.’ And, I shaved it.”
Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up to date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
The Descendants actor noted that he had cut his hair short several times throughout his life, including when he attended school “because everyone was calling me a girl” and for the Twilight movies, but his hair eventually grew “long again.”
This time around, he was happy with the end product.
“It feels so good,” he said. “Yeah, I love it.”
When podcast host Daniel Curtis Lee, who noted that he kept his locks after cutting it, asked Stewart if he also kept the hair, the actor admitted that he did. “I still have it,” he said.
Related: David Beckham Reflects on His Iconic 2000 Buzz Cut: ‘Never Did It to Create Attention’
Podcast host Devon Werkheiser then asked what he did with the extra hair, Stewart jokingly said, “I pray to it … no, I don’t do that.” He said that he instead kept the locks in a drawer in his bathroom.
Stewart initially debuted his new hairdo in a photo on Instagram. In the snap he could be seen posing with his arms crossed in front of a window as the light illuminated the side of his head.
Soon after showing off his new look, fans flooded his comment section and shared both their admiration and disapproval for the new look.
One user wrote, “The way my mouth opened ... I remain in denial even though it suits him very well.”
“That was a plot twist and a half, looks insanely cool tho,” added another person.
For more People news, make sure to sign up for our newsletter!
Read the original article on People.