Jonah Hill, left, has revealed he hated Christopher Mintz-Plasse, centre, and begged for him not to be cast in the 2007 buddy film. Photo / Getty Images
Jonah Hill, left, has revealed he hated Christopher Mintz-Plasse, centre, and begged for him not to be cast in the 2007 buddy film. Photo / Getty Images
The 2007 gross-out buddy comedy Superbad may have been about Jonah Hill and Michael Cera's characters, Seth and Evan, but there's no debate that McLovin stole the whole damn thing.
Christopher Mintz-Plasse's rambunctious high-schooler who gets caught up in an increasingly riotous night spawned a thousand memes and to this day remains the most memorable aspect of the coming-of-age story.
But that screen magic almost wasn't to be if Hill had it his way.
In an oral history of the making of Superbad in Vanity Fair, Hill revealed he hated Mintz-Plasse immediately and begged director Greg Mottola, producer Judd Apatow and screenwriter Seth Rogen to not cast him.
Mintz-Plasse was still in his final year of high school when he auditioned for the role after he and his friends saw notices for open auditions. While his friends didn't get very far, Mintz-Plasse got a callback and then was eventually reading with Hill and Cera.
It was during that third audition that Mintz-Plasse rubbed Hill up the wrong way.
Hill recalled that while he found Mintz-Plasse "really, really amazing", he was also "really annoying to me at the time".
"Jonah immediately hated him," Rogen revealed. "He was like 'That was f**king with my rhythm. I couldn't perform with that guy'."
Apatow elaborated: "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'."
What did Mintz-Plasse do in the room that irked Hill so much? According to Apatow, Mintz-Plasse was "very caustic and attacked Jonah and did improvs insulting Jonah".
That'll do it. But it'll also, apparently, launch your career.
Written by Rogen and his creative partner, Evan Goldberg, Superbad was based on the pairs' own teenage shenanigans. The story follows their onscreen avatars over one night as they try to lose their virginity before their high school graduation.
Superbad was considered a roaring success, nabbing US $170 million (NZ $250 million) at the box office from a US $20 million production budget.
It also made stars out of Hill, Mintz-Plasse and Emma Stone. Superbad was Stone's feature debut.
Mintz-Plasse would go on to star in Role Models, Year One, Kick-Ass, The Disaster Artist and the How to Train Your Dragon franchise. He recently played a high school teacher in streaming movie Honor Society.
Last week, Hill penned a statement in which he announced he would no longer participate in promotional activities for his projects. He cited mental health reasons, a subject he explored in his documentary, Stutz.
Jonah Hill has recently opened up about his mental health and how he copes with pressure. Photo / Getty Images
He wrote, "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.
"I am so grateful that the film will make its world premiere at a prestigious film festival this fall, and I can't wait to share it with audiences around the world in the hope that it will help those struggling.
"However, 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.
"I usually cringe at letters or statements like this but I understand that I am of the privileged few who can afford to take time off. I won't lose my job while working on my anxiety.
"With this letter and with Stutz, I'm hoping to make it more normal for people to talk and act on this stuff. So they can take steps towards feeling better and so that the people in their lives might understand their issues more clearly."
