In an exclusive conversation with PEOPLE, Kat Dennings looks back at the harsh critiques she received from casting directors as a child actor and recalls how she was told she was "fat" at just 12 years old.

It was pretty crazy thinking about it. I’m like, ‘How can anyone say that about a little kid? This is insane,'” Dennings recalled.

Kat Dennings explained that the casting directors would say “very cruel” things to her even though they were “talking about a child.”

Showbiz certainly isn’t for the faint of heart, as Kat Dennings can attest to. The Shifting Gears star opened up to People about the scrutiny she was put under for her appearance as she was starting out in the industry,