Nicholas Hoult | Explain This | Esquire
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00:00And Nintendo Joy ate Nicholas Holt's leftovers while shooting the menu.
00:03I think I ate her leftovers.
00:05My character in the menu was, you know, gorging constantly, wouldn't stop eating.
00:10So I would eat the leftovers in scenes and sometimes in between scenes because, um,
00:14because I'm a greedy little pig.
00:18Hello, I'm Nicholas Holt and Esquire has asked me to explain a few things.
00:22So here we go.
00:30What's the most Clint Eastwood thing Clint Eastwood said while working on Dura No. 2?
00:35Well, he doesn't say action or cut, which was kind of legendary and known,
00:39but he kind of just says, whenever you're ready, at the start of it.
00:42And so you're kind of, it goes quiet and then you're like, should I go?
00:44Should I start doing the scene?
00:46He's like, whenever you're ready.
00:47And then he says, stop.
00:48And I always interpreted stop as like, please stop.
00:51Stop doing what you're doing.
00:53But he also always says, uh, pretty, pretty good.
00:55When he's kind of satisfied and that's happy and we're going to move on.
00:59And so I actually got him a putter made, a golf putter that says
01:02pretty good on the back of it, engraved on the back of it.
01:04Can I say the most Clint Eastwood thing I said to Clint Eastwood?
01:07Because I'm pretty happy with this.
01:08Clint has a golf course called Tehama up in North California.
01:12And I went up to visit him and Unforgiven is one of my favorite movies of his.
01:16And he has an iconic line in that movie where he walks into the bar at the end
01:19and he said, who's the fellow that owns this s***hole?
01:21And I walked into Clint in his golf course and said that line to him.
01:26And I was so thrilled with myself and he laughed and oh, how we chuckled.
01:30Great moment.
01:31How did you feel about your wardrobe for The Great?
01:34I feel fantastic about my wardrobe from The Great.
01:36I think one of my favorite costumes of all time I got to wear on the show
01:39where they're holding a baby shower and Peter had made a special outfit
01:44for this baby shower where he's got baby yellow, blue and pink
01:49kind of tights and feathers and a dress.
01:52And he's really gone all out for this baby shower party that he's throwing.
01:55So I felt very good about the costumes on that show.
01:58I actually have his fur hat.
02:00He's got a massive fur hat.
02:01And I asked them at the end of the show, I was like, can I keep that?
02:04And they said, yes.
02:05But I'm like, I saw it in the cupboard the other day.
02:07And I was like, where am I ever going to wear that?
02:09It's huge.
02:10Of course, yeah, on set it kind of worked.
02:11It made sense.
02:12But now I'm like, I can't knit to the shops in there.
02:15Maybe I will if it gets cold enough.
02:16I might start wearing it.
02:17Is there anything you learned about a boy that you still practice to this day?
02:20Did Hugh Grant ever say s*** when the cameras weren't rolling?
02:24Probably.
02:24I feel it was a very influential moment in my life,
02:27in terms of being part of that movie and the press for that movie and being around Hugh
02:30and his professionalism and how he treats people.
02:32It was a great example.
02:33But also his sense of humor.
02:35I feel like that's something that kind of distilled into me.
02:37So I would like to say that I still practice the humor, maybe.
02:41Also, just another little thing.
02:43Toni Collette played my mom in that film.
02:45And then we got to work together again on Dura No. 2, the Ken Eastwood movie.
02:49So that was kind of a nice circular moment where I got to spend time with her again.
02:52And she's just so lovely and kind to me and also talented as an actress.
02:56So it was lovely to be working with her again.
02:58Nicholas Holt says he and Jude Law didn't speak
03:00for four weeks during filming of The Order as they got into characters as adversaries.
03:05Yeah, we didn't speak because our characters in the film, The Order,
03:09are kind of adversaries and opposing forces throughout the film.
03:12He's an FBI agent who's hunting my character, Bob Matthews,
03:15and trying to stop him and his group committing these horrible crimes.
03:19And Justin Kurzel, our director,
03:20decided that it would be great if we didn't meet.
03:22So yeah, for the first four weeks of filming, I think it was,
03:25you know, I was aware sometimes that Jude would be on set
03:27doing a scene when I wasn't and vice versa.
03:29But we never spoke to each other until we met doing our first scene together.
03:33And I think that gave both of us this, you know, a fun sense of adrenaline
03:38and built it up to this moment that on screen is kind of,
03:42hopefully, quite dynamic because it's authentic and real what's happening.
03:46In The Order, you play a bank robber.
03:48If you could get away with a crime in real life, what would you do?
03:52The crime of doing something good, I don't know what it would be.
03:56I did actually plan a few bank robberies.
03:58That was one of the things that Justin Kurzel, our director,
04:00gave us manifestos for our characters to work on
04:02to kind of understand them better and better.
04:04And he wanted me to plan bank robberies.
04:07So I would, like, in my little notebook,
04:08draft and kind of plan bank robberies.
04:12If anyone needs a plan for one of those, let me know.
04:14Do you mind if I spit back?
04:16Nicholas Hoult believed he became a real actor
04:18after Charlize Theron spat on his face in Mad Max Fury Road.
04:22Please explain.
04:23That was a moment where Charlize spat in my face during one of the scenes.
04:27And I was like, I feel like, you know,
04:29that these characters have a lot of animosity and hatred towards each other.
04:32And I don't think my character, Nux,
04:33would have just accepted getting spat on his face.
04:35So I'm pretty sure I asked.
04:37I was like, hey, Charlize, lovely to be working with you.
04:40Big fan. Do you mind if I spit back?
04:41But I still didn't, like, purposely try and, like, actually spit.
04:45I think it was just like a bit of air.
04:48I think it was more of me just pretending to spit
04:50and not actually throwing spittle at her.
04:54Describe Nick Cage as a scene partner.
04:56He's just magical to be in scenes with.
04:57It's so fun because his performances are always so powerful and present.
05:02And it's so exciting to be there as one of those comes to life
05:05and see where he draws inspiration from and how creative he is.
05:09He's a dream scene partner.
05:10So I feel very lucky when I get to watch him in a movie,
05:12but even more so when I get to perform with him
05:14because he's a very generous actor.
05:16And I hope we get to do more movies together.
05:18Who were you most excited to work with on X-Men?
05:23I mean, you know, front and center of this photo are McAvoy and Fassbender
05:26and those two actors that I look up to massively.
05:28But then also, like, later on in X-Men Days of Future Past,
05:32I got to be on set with Hugh Jackman.
05:34And that was magic because I grew up, you know,
05:36watching the original X-Men movies.
05:37So to be walking down, you know, the corridors of Cerebro
05:41and then glance over and see Hugh Jackman in the full getup of Wolverine,
05:45that was like a really weird kind of pinch me moment for me
05:47because I was like, well, hang on.
05:48This is like 10, 12, 13 years ago or whatever.
05:50You're watching these films in these corridors with him
05:52and now you're walking alongside in a scene with him.
05:56And this is like a weird dream.
05:58But that was obviously a cool moment too.
06:00How did you come to be dancing in a Rolling Stones music video?
06:03I'm a video vixen.
06:04I've always dreamt of being in music videos.
06:06The Rolling Stones were looking for an actor to be in their music video.
06:09And I kind of asked their producer and manager and everyone when I was there.
06:12I was like, how am I here?
06:13And they were like, oh, well, you know,
06:14Mick said he was a fan of you as an actor and we showed him you.
06:17And he said, yeah, great.
06:19That's the guy we want for the video.
06:20So I guess Mick Jagger maybe kind of chose me, which feels very cool.
06:25That's the story I'm going with anyway.
06:27And now on Spotify, if you play that song, My Little Face pops up.
06:31How is working with Yorgos Lanthimos a unique experience?
06:33It's the most unique experience I've ever had working with a director.
06:35I went for the audition and I remember the casting director saying like,
06:39oh, he might ask you to do some strange things.
06:40Just go with it.
06:41And there was quite like some chunky dialogue that I'd already learned.
06:44But then whilst trying to remember all this dialogue and do the scenes,
06:46Yorgos would say, now do it again,
06:48but hum every time that the other person's doing their dialogue.
06:51But don't let it affect how you do your dialogue.
06:53And then follow an imaginary energy beam around the room.
06:56And all these things that were kind of strange games whilst doing the scenes.
06:59He's a wonderful director to work with.
07:01I had a brilliant experience.
07:02So I felt like I learned a lot from that.
07:04How did you prepare for this?
07:05Iconic scene in Skins.
07:07I think it's at the very end of the first season.
07:09And Tony's been kind of a despicable, horrible character throughout.
07:11And then he gets hit by a bus.
07:13Kind of maybely.
07:13You don't want to say deservedly.
07:15No one really deserves to get hit by a bus, but he does.
07:17And how did you prepare for this iconic scene?
07:19Well, we're actually singing Cat Stevens.
07:21Ooh, baby, baby, it's a wild world.
07:24So I learned the lyrics to that song,
07:25which I don't really remember.
07:26And I'm going to stop singing.
07:27You're a big watch guy.
07:28What is your holy grail watch?
07:31I am a big watch guy.
07:32I'm wearing my Jaeger-LeCoultre ultra thin today.
07:35JLC, Jaeger, make a watch that's the Reverso Tribute Tourbillon duo face.
07:42It's a beautiful watch.
07:42I love the rectangular shape of those watches
07:45and the face shape and the heritage of them.
07:47But also the mechanics and design of a Tourbillon feature
07:51and how that all works.
07:52I'm obsessed with how things work.
07:54Engines, watches, all those sorts of things.
07:56So that is like a holy grail watch for me.
08:00Describe your style in one word.
08:03Timeless, effortless, chic.
08:05Those are three words.
08:06I don't have one word for my style.
08:07Not when you show me these three images either
08:09because there's no cohesive pattern here.
08:12Let's move on.
08:13What's your dream race car and where would you want to drive it?
08:16I mean, I'd love to do the Le Mans race in a Ferrari would be beautiful.
08:20I'm lucky.
08:20I've got to do quite a few of the American tracks now.
08:22And I think one of the race tracks I haven't been to here is Daytona.
08:25I'd like to do Daytona.
08:27And one of the endurance races in one of the Ferrari race cars would be a dream.
08:31So hopefully I can continue to develop that skill
08:34and they'll allow me to keep racing with them.
08:36Which of your characters would you most like to have dinner with and why?
08:41Fiver, the rabbit from Watership Down, I think would be.
08:45We'll just sit there and eat some lettuce together and some carrots.
08:49It's a weird question.
08:50I don't think I want to go for dinner with any of them particularly.
08:53What can you tell us about your portrayal of Lex Luthor?
08:55How would you rank all the previous Lex Luthor iterations?
08:58I will not be ranking any Lex Luthor previous iterations.
09:01What can you tell us about your portrayal of Lex Luthor?
09:04Is I can tell you that James Gunn is a wonderful creative to work with.
09:09He's so singular in his vision and ideas and the script that he created
09:14and the environment that he created on set was so collaborative and fun.
09:18And I think he's just making a very special movie.
09:20So as a fan, I'm just excited to see how it all comes together
09:24because I think he's a genius.
09:26Thanks for watching.
09:28Bye.