Why Jonah Hill ‘hated’ Superbad co-star after being ‘attacked’ and ‘insulted’ by him during auditions
Jonah Hill famously 'hated' one of his Superbad co-stars so much that he tried to stop him from being cast.
Clearly this apparent hatred never really affected things, because the film is a cult classic, beloved worldwide, and spawned the career of a number of stars.
Starring alongside Michael Cera, Emma Stone, Seth Rogen, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Bill Hader, and Joe Lu Truglio, it was Hill’s first leading role.
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It follows Hill’s Seth and Cera’s Evan as they try and find alcohol for an end of school party in order to impress Seth’s crush Jules, who is played by Emma Stone.
Despite the success of the film, however, Hill had tried to stop Judd Apatow from hiring one of his co-stars following his audition, where he 'attacked' and 'insulted' the Wolf of Wall Street star.
We're talking about Christopher Mintz-Plasse, the American actor cast in the role of the iconic character of Fogell, who uses a fake ID with the iconic 'McLovin' name to buy booze. No surname. Iconic.
His performance is part of what makes the film as iconic as it is, with executive producer Judd Apatow certain that he was the man for the role after initial read throughs of the script with Mintz-Plasse.
But Hill wasn't in agreement.
Mintz-Plasse secured the role after an open audition window for McLovin, which saw him compete against a number of young actors for the role - many of whom were friends of his from drama class.
He was the only one to get a callback, and he went on to read for the role alongside Hill and Cera.
Speaking to Vanity Fair in 2022, Hill said that Mintz-Plasse was 'really, really amazing off the bat'. But he added: "I think he was really annoying to me at that time."
Apatow remembered Mintz-Plasse being 'very caustic', adding that he 'attacked Jonah and did improvs insulting Jonah'.
Seth Rogen, who played Officer Michaels, added: "Jonah immediately hated him. He was like - 'that was f**king with my rhythm. I couldn’t perform with that guy'."
Apatow, who has also directed the likes of The 40-Year-Old Virgin and Knocked Up, claimed that Hill didn't like Mintz-Plasse as a result and went as far as saying 'I don't want him doing it'.
"That’s exactly why we’re hiring him. It couldn’t be more perfect," Apatow recalled saying. "The fact that it bothers you is exactly what we want."
Speaking at Fan Expo Chicago, Mintz-Plasse said: "Jonah Hill hated me so much after my audition. I get it, I was 17, I was not a professional actor, I was in high school and we're playing high school kids.
"So Jonah's roasting me - and you remember being in high school, you just like yeah it's my f**king buddy roasting me, it's not going to bother me, I'm going to roast him back. And that's what I did in the audition.
"And I left the room... and Jonah's like 'f**k that guy'."
Mintz-Plasse said that the pair quickly put the beef to one side, however, with Hill messaging him saying he should have 'big bro'd' him after the audition and took him under his wing.
Topics: Jonah Hill, Emma Stone, Seth Rogen, TV and Film, Film
Michael Slavin