Jacob Elordi Recalls Asking Ben Affleck for Advice on Dealing With Public Scrutiny

Ben Affleck knows what it's like to be photographed by the paparazzi. So when Jacob Elordi asked him how to deal with the media frenzy, the Oscar winner shared his thoughts. Read them here.

By Elyse Dupre Aug 08, 2022 7:00 PMTags
Watch: What Jacob Elordi Learned From Ex Kaia Gerber

Life for Jacob Elordi isn't always euphoric—especially when it comes to navigating the realities of fame.

The actor was catapulted into stardom—and life in the public eye—after appearing as Noah Flynn in the 2018 Netflix movie The Kissing Booth. But life in the spotlight came with its own set of challenges, especially public scrutiny around his personal life.

In an interview for GQ's first-ever Hype issue, Jacob, who reprised his Kissing Booth role in its two sequels and landed a role on the HBO hit series Euphoria, said he at one point even wanted to quit acting, "which might sound quite sensitive and dramatic, but I am sensitive and I'm very dramatic. I hated being a character to the public. I felt so far from myself." 

The paparazzi didn't make things any easier, and Jacob still remembers the first time he was photographed with someone else.

"It felt like, all of a sudden, I was a poster," he said. "Like I was a billboard. It felt like it was for sale. Then my brain went through the f--king wringer. Like, I wasn't sure if I was genuine. It really skews your view…. It creates a very paranoid way of living."

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Another thing that bothered Jacob? Rumors that he was the one calling the paparazzi. So while he was working on the 2022 movie Deep Water, he asked his co-star Ben Affleck—who is well-versed in public life—for some advice on dealing with the media frenzy. Unfortunately, it wasn't exactly what the 25-year-old had been hoping to hear. 

Jacob told GQ that Ben said there would be times when feelings of phoniness would creep in and that Jacob might one day find himself questioning whether he actually wanted the paparazzi to get a photo of him.

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But despite the fame and media attention, Jacob doesn't want to lose touch of who he is or let other people define him. "I don't want to lose the entirety of who I was when I was little, and when I grew up, to whatever this—I won't say beast, because it's not at all negative—to whatever this public version of myself is now," he shared. "I still want to be in touch with my younger self, which is everything that I am. I don't want to look at everything from the outside. I want to be in it. I want to see it all from my eyes."  

And while Jacob knows life in this biz won't be easy, his love of acting keeps him in it, explaining to GQ how his audition for his upcoming movie Saltburn helped reignite his passion for his craft.

"I'm so excited," he continued, "but with that comes great fear. I think that's what keeps you going."