“Euphoria” star Jacob Elordi is a stickler for doing things by the book. The actor recently recalled how he “went to war” over Netflix’s decision not to allow his character Noah in “The Kissing Booth” to smoke a cigarette.
The actor explained that before getting on set, he made sure to read the book the movie was based on and noted every detail. His character’s lack of a cigarette worried him enough to speak up about it; however, his request was declined by the streaming giant.
Several other studios have maintained no smoking rules in their movies even while remaking live actions of cartoons where the characters smoked. Colin Farrell and Emma Stone had a similar incident with Warner Bros. and Disney.
Jacob Elordi Played Noah In ‘The Kissing Booth’
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Elordi revealed that he had to go head to head with Netflix for his character in “The Kissing Booth” to have smoking privileges. The “Euphoria” actor played the male lead in the Netflix series alongside Joey King.
Elordi was a guest on GQ Magazine and shed light on how he prepared for the role in the movie, adding that the preparation for the part of Noah might have swung into absurd territory.
The books were based on a 2012 novel by Beth Reekles, and the actor revealed that he took out time to go through the works and pointed out irregularities between the movie script and the original work from time to time. One such time was when the actor pointed out his character’s lack of a cigarette.
Jacob Elordi Went To ‘War’ With Netflix
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Elordi revealed that at the time, he pushed for his character to hold a cigarette like he was portrayed in the book, but the streaming giant remained firm. “I remember saying, ‘He smokes in the book. I need to smoke. He needs to have cigarettes. He’s a bad boy,'” the actor recalled.
He continued pushing for the change and even went as far as to indicate the area in the original novel where Noah was described holding on to a cigarette. “I was like, ‘This is bullshit! ‘I remember going to war for it,” Elordi said.
The 25-year-old added, “I was like, ‘Are we lying to the f—ing millions of 14-year-olds out there? This guy smokes nicotine. It says here on page four — look!’ I imagine people were just like, ‘Jesus f—ing Christ. Is this guy serious?'”
Jacob Elordi Said Acting Was Like Breathing For Him
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Elordi also disclosed that acting was much more than a profession to him and more like a normal bodily action. “For me, acting is breathing,” the actor added. “I didn’t finish university; I barely finished high school. All I know is from the books I’ve read and the plays that I’ve read.”
Despite the lack of cigarettes, the first installment of “The Kissing Booth” movies had an impressive reception. Ted Sarandos, the CEO of Netflix, revealed that after its debut, the romantic comedy was “one of the most watched movies in the country.”
Elordi and his co-star King also appeared in two other sequels, and although film critics didn’t laud the movies, King revealed that she would never regret being a part of them. In an interview with The Independent, she said, “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.”
Other Studios Banned Smoking
Besides Netflix, several other studios prohibited smoking from being displayed in their movies. Warner Bros. is one of such, and Colin Farrell, who played Penguin in “The Batman,” revealed that he was banned from holding the character’s trusty cigar.
At the time, Farrell said, “Big studios make big decisions around such things as the presence of cigarettes in films. I fought valiantly for a cigar. At one stage, I said, ‘I can have it unlit! Just let me have it unlit.’ They were like, ‘No.’ [As if] a bunch of 12-year-olds are going to start smoking Cuban cigars because [the Penguin is smoking cigars in a movie.].”
Emma Stone was in a similar position but with Disney. The actress who played Cruella de Vil in “Cruella” was not allowed to hold the cigarette holder her character had in the cartoon. She said, “That is not allowed in 2021. We are not allowed to smoke onscreen in a Disney film. It was difficult to not have that cigarette holder.”
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