'The Emoji Movie' made 'Get Out' director Jordan Peele decide to quit acting
Apparently, Patrick Stewart's dignity wasn't the only loss in 2017's The Emoji Movie. You can also thank the shameless cash-grab for Jordan Peele's early retirement from acting.
In January, the Get Out director and Key & Peele co-creator announced in an interview with CBS that he was officially putting an end to that chapter of his career (at least for now). "Acting is just nowhere near as fun for me as directing," he said.
It's not hard to see why Peele would choose to shift his focus elsewhere, as his directorial debut Get Out continues to gather wins and nominations from every prestigious award show. But while accepting the most recent award for best first-time director from Director's Guild of America over the weekend, he revealed exactly what pushed him over the edge.
Turns out it was a literal pile of poo.
"The Emoji Movie actually helped me quit acting. I was offered the role of Poop," he told the crowd, assuring them that he "would not make this up."
But the demeaning offer itself wasn't even the last straw. "That's fucked up," Peele recalls telling his manager. "I'm going to sleep on it."
Later, he followed up on exactly how much they were offering him in order to degrade himself to such an extent. But they'd already moved on: The esteemed Sir Patrick Stewart had already accepted the honor.
Peele's response to the news: "I was like, 'Fuck this.'"
Jess is an LA-based culture critic who covers intimacy in the digital age, from sex and relationship to weed and all media (tv, games, film, the web). Previously associate editor at Kill Screen, you can also find her words on Vice, The Atlantic, Rolling Stone, Vox, and others. She is a Brazilian-Swiss American immigrant with a love for all things weird and magical.
