Why Jacob Elordi Passed on Reading for Superman and Has Moved on From Films Like ‘The Kissing Booth’
Jacob Elordi doesn’t currently see superhero roles or parts in franchises like The Kissing Booth in his future.
In an interview published Monday, the Euphoria actor spoke to British GQ as part of their “Men of the Year” issue, breaking down his whirlwind year and rapid rise to Hollywood stardom. As part of the discussion, he reflects on his past and possible future in performance, revealing a few of the kinds of jobs he’s, at present, avoiding.
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The actor, who currently stars in Sofia Coppola’s Priscilla, shares that he’s “not particularly” Interested in superhero roles.
“I’ve always been told to say a rounded answer or my agent will get mad at me. ‘Anything can happen!’” he says, according to the magazine, with “false cheer.”
“And obviously anything can happen, but at this stage in my life, I don’t see myself having any interest in that,” he continued. “I like to make what I would watch, and I get very restless watching those movies.”
Elordi reveals he has already passed on reading for one of those roles — Superman — while discussing whether there was a part in his library of darker characters that felt like a step too far for him. “That was immediately, ‘No, thank you.’ That’s too much. That’s too dark for me,” the actor says of the Superman part.
In terms of moving on from roles he’s already done, Elordi pointed to his break-out project, Netflix’s The Kissing Booth trilogy. The magazine likens taking the role to the kind of part an actor might do when really in need of work or if they’re looking for a less substantive franchise role that performs well but might not be as fulfilling from an artistic standpoint. In the case of The Kissing Booth, the Saltburn star says, “Those movies are ridiculous. They’re not universal. They’re an escape.”
For him, they’re part of the “one for them, one for me” approach that can ensnare some actors on their way to stardom. “That one’s a trap as well. Because it can become 15 for them, none for you,” he tells the magazine. “You have no original ideas, and you’re dead inside. So it’s a fine dance.”
“My ‘one for them,’ I’ve done it,” he concludes.
While those are Elordi’s current feelings, during the interview, the actor admits he wasn’t always comfortable offering up his thoughts with journalists, afraid that an answer in one moment could lead to little grace for his answers to evolve or change in another.
“I’m wary of having any kind of absolute. I almost feel like, for me, I change every single step I take,” he says. “That’s why I really, really, really don’t like interviews, because you set something in stone as an absolute.”
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