Jacob Elordi doesn’t hold back on ‘The Kissing Booth’: ‘Those movies are ridiculous’

Jacob Elordi is looking back — and looking forward.

For GQ's Man of the Year issue, the magazine interviewed the star of Sofia Coppola's "Priscilla." Elordi played Elvis in the stylized biopic of his ex-wife, Priscilla Presley.

But before he played the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll, Elordi first gained fame for his role in the hit Netflix trilogy "The Kissing Booth." Elordi portrayed main character Noah Flynn, opposite actor Joey King (whom Elordi dated briefly) as Elle.

However, Elordi revealed he wasn't passionate about the project before starting.

“I didn’t want to make those movies before I made those movies,” said Elordi. “Those movies are ridiculous. They’re not universal. They’re an escape.”

"The Kissing Booth" was a large success within the Netflix originals universe. In 2018, per Variety, Netflix chief content officer Ted Sarandos said it was "one of the most-watched movies in the country, and maybe in the world."

The movie was followed by two sequels, all starring Elordi and King. Based on Beth Reekles’ novel of the same name, the franchise followed their budding relationship after Elle gets to kiss longtime crush Noah when she runs a kissing booth at a carnival.

In the interview, Elordi explained his reasoning behind taking those rom-com roles. He explained that it was a part of the "one for you, one for me" attitude within the industry. It's the idea that an actor will work on something they are less passionate about in the hopes that the next project will be something they will really love.

However, he said that kind of thinking is a "trap."

“Because it can become 15 for them, none for you. You have no original ideas and you’re dead inside. So it’s a fine dance,” said Elordi. “My ‘one for them,’ I’ve done it.”

To those who might find that attitude pretentious, Elordi has a question in return.

“How is caring about your output pretentious?” He said. “But not caring, and knowingly feeding people sh--, 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?”

It appears these days Elordi has finally come to a place where he is satisfied with the work he is doing.

“That’s probably why I’m so happy, because now judgment and comments on the internet and stuff, it’s…” he said, trailing off before adding, “I’m in the movie now.”

This article was originally published on TODAY.com