The dynamic between McLovin and Seth in SuperBad is one of the highlights of the beloved coming-of-age movie, and as some might know, it might be because some of that anger is real. Actor Jonah Hill actively disliked working with Christopher Mintz-Plasse during the film, and while we've heard about the audition and things from Hill's perspective, we haven't heard the full story. Mintz-Plasse recently shared those details with CinemaBlend, and where things stand with the actors currently.
I had a chance to speak to Christopher Mintz-Plasse following his recent appearance on Stars On Mars, in which he rubbed shoulders with fellow celebrities like Marshawn Lynch and Ariel Winter. During our conversation, I asked about the story of Jonah Hill not liking him while filming Superbad and got his take on the "beef" between them, starting with the infamous McLovin audition. Said Mintz-Plasse,
I don’t think it was real beef. You know the story where I went in and stepped on his lines during the audition and was kind of super cool and shot down all his insults. That was just me being me. I was not trying to upset anybody at all. I was literally in high school when I went to do that audition, so I knew how high school kids would riff. If a friend is joshing with you, you just rib them back…I guess other actors didn’t play it that way.
Christopher Mintz-Plasse had no intention of pissing off Jonah Hill. As he explained, he was just trying to get the part of McLovin. This meant acting like an actual high schooler (which he was pretty tuned into as a high schooler at the time), and his comebacks and jabs threw Hill off his game and frustrated him.
The tension between Jonah Hill and Christopher Mintz-Plasse didn't end at the audition either, apparently. Mintz-Plasse told CinemaBlend about landing the gig as McLovin, and how the continued tension between him and Hill ultimately helped the movie:
And so they casted me, and Jonah, he didn’t like my energy on set. He definitely was a little on edge with me which is totally fine because it works so well with the movie and also, who knows if I would have even gotten the part if he liked me or not. So, I’m kind of grateful he was annoyed with me.
Seth was legitimately pissed off at McLovin most of the time they interacted, and apparently, the same was true of Jonah Hill in regard to Christopher Mintz-Plasse. The actor isn't upset about that in the slightest and points out that had Hill liked him, he may not have gotten the role of Superbad's most memorable character.
McLovin is a role that led to a lot of other roles for Christopher Mintz-Plasse in Hollywood, so it's easy to see why he's happy with how things worked out. It also probably helps that he's since had time to talk with Jonah Hill about that gig fifteen-plus years later and hash out any issues that were between them:
As the years went on, we’ve totally squashed the beef. We talked about that situation many times. He’s apologized for it, and I’ve accepted his apology, but also been like, 'It’s not a big deal.' You know what I mean? 'It worked for the movie, all good.' And yeah, we’re super friendly now.
It's good to hear that things are good between the two actors, and we aren't reporting on some decade-and-a-half blood feud between the two of them. Something tells me that Seth and McLovin would for sure hold a grudge against each other for that long, but it doesn't seem like we'll ever get Superbad 2 to find out for sure.
As far as what's next for Christopher Mintz-Plasse, he's reprising his role as King Gristle for the upcoming Trolls Band Together. He also was in Fox's Stars On Mars, but for those who missed the premiere, he was voted off in the opening episode. Hey, at least he's never too far away on streaming for anyone wanting to watch his work, as Superbad is available with an HBO Max subscription.
Stars On Mars airs on Fox on Mondays at 8:00 pm ET. Tune in to see various stars trying to prove they can survive life on Mars or prove the exact opposite. It's a fun watch, even with Christopher Mintz-Plasse out of the mix, and I'm excited to see which celebrities make it to the end.
