Thandie Newton admits teenage affair with director John Duigan

"2012" actress Thandie Newton is speaking out in hopes of helping teens.

The 38-year-old reveals to InStyle (via The Daily Mail) that at just 16-years-old, she was involved in a relationship with director John Duigan, 23 years her senior. She was connected to Duigan for a reported six years and claims that though he took advantage of her youth and vulnerability, she values the lessons it taught her.

"I was a very shy, very sweet girl. I wasn't in control of the situation. Would I have liked things to be different? Sure," she says. "But I can now value myself more for the way I got through it. I don't see myself as a victim."

The London born actress met Duigan after making a trip to Australia to audition for his 1991 film "Flirting," which also starred Nicole Kidman. She says that she was "coerced" into the relationship and is now opening up "so that teenagers can see they can resist and gain self-awareness."

Duigan has not yet commented on the situation, though it is believed that he was not married at the time.

In addition to "2012," Newton has starred in "The Pursuit of Happiness," "Mission: Impossible II," "ER" and "Crash." Duigan wrote and directed 2004's "Head in the Clouds," starring Charlize Theron, Stuart Townsend and Penelope Cruz.