“I don’t identify with that whatsoever. I was trying to prove myself and be known as an actor.”
Jacob Elordi wasn’t too happy when the internet started focusing on his physical appearance.
In an interview with Men’s Health, the 23-year-old actor, who rose to fame playing bad boy Noah Flynn in “The Kissing Booth,” admitted he was “really f–king bothered” when people seemed more interested in talking about his physique instead of his acting role.
Kissing Booth 2’s Maisie Richardson-Sellers and Meganne Young on Filming in Cape Town, Their Characters and More (Exclusive)
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“I trained extensively for the first film, because it said it in the script,” said Elordi while promoting “The Kissing Booth 2.” “I was so terribly nervous that I wouldn’t be what the script wanted me to be.”
“At the time, I was super young and got thrown into a world where everyone wanted to talk about my body… it really f–king bothered me,” he continued. “I don’t identify with that whatsoever. I was trying to prove myself and be known as an actor. It was so much working out and I hated every second of it.”
While he followed a strict fitness routine for filming “The Kissing Booth,” the Australian native said he didn’t train for the second installment, which hit Netflix last Friday.
“[‘The Kissing Booth’] was all about sculpting and making sure I had this figure that I thought the character needed,” Elordi recalled, adding that he recently began incorporating yoga and pilates. “Now, it’s more functional. I wanted to be a blank canvas and be more concerned with my health.”
“I wanted to be able to walk and run with my grandkids when I’m eighty-something, you know? It’s more about being functional as opposed to actual aesthetics,” he continued, joking, “Let’s be honest — I have no interest in going to the beach and looking like The Rock.”
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Meanwhile, for his role as Nate Jacobs in HBO’s “Euphoria,” Elordi actually slimmed down.
“I wanted to go from being bigger to smaller as Nate goes through his mental transition,” he explained.
Elordi also spoke about what he’s been up to during coronavirus quarantine — and said he has no idea when Season 2 of “Euphoria” will resume production as the series was forced to stop filming back in March.
“I think everyone on the production side of everything is just kind of hoping for the best and continually receiving the worst,” he told the magazine. “I just hope that it can get better first, and as a result I can go back to work.”
As for right now, the young actor said he wants fans to enjoy “The Kissing Booth 2.”
“I hope, with everything going on in the world, that the movie can give them some sort of reprieve for two hours,” Elordi said. “I hope they get a smile and find a great amount of joy in watching the movie. That’s all I can really ask for.”
“The Kissing Booth 2” is available to stream on Netflix now. Check out our interview with the film’s stars Maisie Richardson-Sellers and Meganne Young here.
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