Jacob Elordi calls 'The Kissing Booth' movies 'ridiculous'

Jacob Elordi doesn't have fond memories of his "The Kissing Booth" experience.

The "Priscilla" actor, 26, reflected on his breakout role in Netflix's teen trilogy in an interview for GQ, published Monday.

Elordi, who was honored in the outlet's Men of the Year issue, revealed he finds the films "ridiculous."

"I didn't want to make those movies before I made those movies," he said. "Those movies are ridiculous. They're not universal. They're an escape."

Elordi played football player and Harvard student Noah Flynn in the 2018 films opposite Joey King's Elle Evans, based off of the Beth Reekles novel series of the same name.

The "Euphoria" star discussed how the film felt like part of a "trap" some actors fall into in Hollywood.

"You have no original ideas and you're dead inside. So it's a fine dance," he said.

The Australian also pushed back on critics who have called his dissatisfaction with the teen films "pretentious."

"How is caring about your output pretentious?" Elordi told the outlet. "But not caring … 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?"

The actor also shared a role that he passed on, not because it was a trap, but because it was "too dark."

"They asked me to read for Superman," he said. "That was immediately, 'No, thank you.' That's too much. That's too dark for me."

The actor may consider projects like "Saltburn" and "Priscilla" more fulfilling. In the latter, Elordi stars as Elvis opposite Cailee Spaeny in the title role. He took the role very seriously, telling USA TODAY that he avoided watching Baz Luhrmann's "Elvis" biopic.

"I didn't want to copy anyone or get any ideas in my head," Elordi, 26, says of ignoring "Elvis," which catapulted star Austin Butler to an Oscar best actor nomination.

He "tried to dodge everything, from trailers to the marketing campaign," he said. "I didn't want to see a shape or color or hear a sound related to it. It was important to be original."

The actor said to emulate Elvis' moods and mannerisms, he watched documentaries and read biographies. He nailed the singer's Southern mumble by studying press conferences and concert footage.

'Priscilla' cast Jacob Elordi, Cailee Spaeny on why they avoided Austin Butler's 'Elvis'

Contributing: Marco della Cava

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Jacob Elordi criticizes 'The Kissing Booth,' turned down Superman role