London: Simon Cowell, the "American Idol" judge, has revealed that he considered committing suicide while in school.

"I hated school and I was always bored. I didn't like the rules and I didn't like discipline. So when someone said to me, 'These are the best days of your life', I actually thought about jumping off a bridge. I thought, 'If it gets any worse than this I'm done' because I hated my life," New-magazine.co.uk quoted him as saying.

Cowell believes that facing criticism made him strong and that is why he censures contestants on the talent show even though he is called "Mr. Nasty".

Cowell said: "No one gave me any handouts when I started. I had to work my way up. I certainly learnt more when people criticised me than when they lied to me and said what I was doing was right.

"You cannot survive in this business unless you know when you've made a mistake. I would feel guilty about giving people fake hope when I genuinely believe they have no chance."