Movies

Jeremy Allen White recalls failed meeting for a 'Marvel-y movie': 'They were like, 'F--- you''

"I played it the way I wanted to play it."

By

Published on November 7, 2023 02:27PM EST

Jeremy Allen White isn't interested in becoming the next big superhero.

The Bear actor revealed in a recent British GQ interview that he once "had a meeting for a kind of Marvel-y movie" but it quickly went sour because he "had an attitude."

"I think I played it all wrong," White, 32, told the outlet, recalling how he asked executives to "tell me about why I should do your movie" in the first place.

Jeremy Allen White. Gilbert Flores/Getty Images

Suffice to say, they weren't fans of his laissez-faire approach. "They were like, 'F--- you,'" he remembered. "And I was like, 'Right on.'"

White also expressed confusion on how becoming a superhero has become "the pinnacle of an actor's career" in recent years. However, in a later interview, he acknowledged that Marvel does "get really good filmmakers to do those movies and obviously they get really good actors to do those movies."

Still, he has no regrets about how the meeting played out. "I played it the way I wanted to play it," White said, explaining that he'd much rather star in a "$25 million drama that I think most actors want to make" than one of the big box office juggernauts like Avengers: Endgame or Justice League.

A rep for White did not immediately respond to EW's request for comment.

While he might not be donning a superhero suit anytime soon, White is set to put on his best wrestling outfit as Kerry Von Erich in the upcoming sports drama, The Iron Claw. Sitting with costars Zac Efron and Harris Dickinson for EW's cover story, the actor reflected on the awkward of experience of watching himself wrestle onscreen for the first time.

"I was like, 'Oh, that's what it looks like,'" White said with a grimace. "'Got some work to do.'"

Now, months of training and Iron Claw-perfecting behind him, he'd absolutely "jump in" to the ring for real. "We went to Sean [Durkin, the film's director] and were like, 'Sean, call them! Tell them we're ready!'"

Want more movie news? Sign up for Entertainment Weekly's free newsletter to get the latest trailers, celebrity interviews, film reviews, and more.

Related content: