Ashley Benson considered 'too fat' for acting role at UK size 6

'You have to let it roll off your shoulders or it could cause a serious eating disorder'

Benson said the exchange happened recently (Jason Merritt/Getty Images)

Ashley Benson, the actress best known for her role in Pretty Little Liars, has told how she cried for half an hour after being told she was too fat for a role.

Absurdly, the 26-year-old is a US dress size 2 which is equivalent to a UK size 6.

The actress said upon being rejected for the role for that reason she “cried for 30 minutes”.

“I was just told I was too fat for a part,” she told Ocean Drive.

“I’m a size 2! I cried for 30 minutes, but then you have to let it roll off your shoulders or it could cause a serious eating disorder.

“A lot of people in this industry hear they need to lose weight more times than they should. It does make you stronger, though. Because if you let that affect you, you can’t be in this industry – you’d go crazy.”

Benson, who has a strong social media following with 10.4million fans subscribing to her latest posts on Instagram, posted a photograph of her with spot cream dotted on her face in October, which received over 400,000 ‘likes’.

She told the magazine she wanted to post such an image “to show people I’m not perfect – no one is”.

Discussing the dangers of photoshop, she said she barely recognised herself after one shoot which left her being “so disappointed”.

“I hate to think that girls are like, ‘She’s so skinny! Her skin is so perfect!’ I have pimples just like they do,” she said.

Benson rose to prominence playing Hanna in Pretty Little Liars, although previously starred in the US soap opera Days of Our Lives. She also had a lead role alongside Selena Gomez, Vanessa Hutchins and James Franco in the 2012 film Spring Breakers.