Jacob Elordi Calls 'The Kissing Booth' Films 'Ridiculous': 'I Didn't Want to Make Those Movies'
Nov. 13 2023, Published 10:47 a.m. ET
Even though Jacob Elordi rose to fame playing Noah Flynn in The Kissing Booth films, he revealed he didn't want to be a part of them at all.
“I didn’t want to make those movies before I made those movies,” the 26-year-old told GQ in a new interview. “Those movies are ridiculous. They’re not universal. They’re an escape.”
The handsome hunk, who starred opposite Joey King, said the Netflix trilogy was a "one for them, one for me" film, meaning that actors would do a big budget film before embarking on a smaller project they loved.
“That one’s a trap as well. Because it can become 15 for them, none for you,” Elordi said of the old saying. “You have no original ideas and you’re dead inside. So, it’s a fine dance. My ‘one for them,’ I’ve done it.”
Elordi now finally feels free about the movies. “That’s probably why I’m so happy, because now judgment and comments on the internet and stuff, it’s…” he said before adding, “I’m in the movie now."
This is hardly the first time Elordi didn't have the best things to say about the films.
“I used to worry a lot about what people thought about me, and about the kind of actor I was because of the movies I’d made,” he told Esquire in November 2021. “I just felt very corny, and I felt like I had to prove to everyone that I was a serious actor. I felt terribly misunderstood.”
He later clarified that he's "so f------- grateful" that he was cast in the flicks.
“I wouldn’t be here making movies and TV if I didn’t make those movies,” he told Access in January 2022.
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Though the trilogy dominated on Netflix, film critics didn't seem to love the movie. However, King, who played Elle Evans, has defended the rom-com over the years.
“I couldn’t be prouder of those movies,” King told The Independent last year. “I loved them so much and playing that character made me happy. I’ll never regret those movies, and I love them so much no matter what anyone says.”
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Elordi and King previously dated for a year before they split in 2018.
"I know what everyone wants to know, of course," King said, referring to working with her ex. "It was crazy. It was a wild experience. But honestly, it was a really beautiful time. Because I learned a lot about myself and I grew as an actor."
"I grew as a person on this," she told Refinery29. "I think for me because I am very much a frickin' huge fan of The Kissing Booth myself, I'm a fan of how it resonated with the world, it resonated with me, so going back and doing that and making the sacrifice of what, obviously, everyone is thinking about and what I'm not outwardly addressing, but what I'm kind of on the sly addressing, making those sacrifices was totally worth it."