Jonah Hill admits he immediately “hated” Superbad co-star, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, and begged producers not to cast him as ‘McLovin’.
Jonah Hill who played ‘Seth’ in the popular 2007 comedy film, Superbad has opened up to Vanity Fair about his experience working with ‘McLovin’ actor, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, confessing that he found him to be “really annoying” during their first script read together.
This is backed up by screenwriter and fellow cast member, Seth Rogen, who tells the magazine, “Jonah immediately hated him. He was like, ‘That was fucking with my rhythm. I couldn’t perform with that guy’.”
Reportedly, Jonah Hill went as far as to beg Superbad director Greg Mottola, screenwriter Seth Rogen, and producer Judd Apatow not to cast Christopher as the iconic ‘Fogell (a.k.a McLovin)’ character. However, the team agreed that he was ideal for the part.
On the casting choice of Christopher Mintz-Plasse, producer Apatow explains, “In the audition, he was very caustic and attacked Jonah and did improvs insulting Jonah.” He continues, “Jonah said, ‘I don’t like that guy. I don’t want him doing it.’ And I said, ‘That’s exactly why we’re hiring him. It couldn’t be more perfect. The fact that it bothers you is exactly what we want’.”
Christopher, who was in his final year of high school at the time of casting, was simply “stoked” to be auditioning, and didn’t think he would even land the role. He says, “my buddies, who I was in a drama class with when I was in my senior year of high school, heard of an open audition for this movie. We all auditioned. I was the only one who got a callback, which was a little weird.”
He adds, “I went in a second time and read with Greg the director, and then got a third callback and read with Jonah and Mike. I was just, like, a scrawny kid. I was super stoked to be there. I had Seth and everyone sign my script because I didn’t think I was going to get the part.”
Despite disliking Mintz-Plasse, Hill did admit the ‘McLovin’ actor was in fact “really, really amazing off the bat,” in terms of his performance and suitability for the part. In other Jonah Hill news, the Hollywood star recently declared that he will no longer be partaking in movie promotion interviews, for mental health reasons. In an open letter published via Deadline, the actor said, “I have come to the understanding that I have spent nearly 20 years experiencing anxiety attacks, which are exacerbated by media appearances and public-facing events.”
Regarding his upcoming documentary, he adds, “you won’t see me out there promoting this film, or any of my upcoming films, while I take this important step to protect myself. If I made myself sicker by going out there and promoting it, I wouldn’t be acting true to myself or to the film.”
