To ‘GQ’, Jacob Elordi shades ‘Kissing Booth’ movies, says he turned down a chance to play Superman

While his leading role in 2018’s The Kissing Booth made him famous — and a heartthrob — Jacob Elordi is over it.

“I didn’t want to make those movies before I made those movies,” he tells GQ in a Man of the Year cover story, calling the rom-coms ridiculous. He adds, “They’re not universal. They’re an escape.”

The actor, currently starring as Elvis Presley in Sofia Coppola‘s Priscilla, admits his attitude toward lighter fare earned him the label pretentious — but the Australian actor doesn’t get it.

“How is caring about your output pretentious?” Elordi asks. “But not caring, and knowingly feeding people s***, knowing that you’re making money off of people’s time, which is literally the most valuable thing that they have. How is that the cool thing?”

While many actors take the tactic of doing one project to keep the studios happy and one to stretch as a performer, Jacob isn’t on board.

“That one’s a trap as well,” he insists. “Because it can become 15 for them, none for you. You have no original ideas and you’re dead inside.”

He adds, “My ‘one for them,’ I’ve done it.”

When asked if he could see himself joining a superhero franchise, the 26-year-old says, “Not particularly, no.”

Elordi also reveals he was asked to read for Superman. “That was immediately, ‘No, thank you.’ That’s too much. That’s too dark for me.”

To avoid his agent “getting mad” at him, he adds, “[O]bviously anything can happen, but at this stage in my life, I don’t see myself having any interest in that. I like to make what I would watch, and I get very restless watching those movies.”

Elordi is likely talking about Superman: Legacy, James Gunn‘s forthcoming franchise reboot. The role of Superman/Clark Kent eventually went to David Corenswet.