Justin Theroux used to dig through the garbage for food

Los Angeles - Justin Theroux used to "garbage-pick".

The 42-year-old star was forced to dig through the bins looking for food during the 1990s in order to survive as he was a struggling actor living in New York City.

He told the latest issue of Details magazine: "I used to garbage-pick. It sounds much more disgusting than it is. You learn a lot about society by seeing what's thrown away. During the period I was doing that, a lot of great stuff was being tossed."

The hunky actor's profile has rocketed since he began dating Friends actress Jennifer Aniston three years ago, but he admits he never wanted to become famous.

He explained: "There's a huge distinction between wanting to act and wanting to be a famous actor. Most of the people that jump off buses in Hollywood just want to fucking 'make it.' And I never had that drive. Honestly. I could never visualise myself in that way."

Meanwhile, Justin proposed to Jennifer, 45, on his 41st birthday, but he insists they've got no plans to tie the knot just yet as they are enjoying being engaged.

Asked whether he has any big plans for his 43rd birthday this year, he told Good Morning America on Thursday; "This birthday, I think, will be just cakes and, you know, who knows? We'll see. It's hard to top after the proposal. We're also loving the engagement as well."