Ansel Elgort: ‘I’m super easy to hate…. it’s hard to be liked and successful’

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As I said previously, people keep trying to make Ansel Elgort happen and it’s not working. Ansel is the star of the new film Baby Driver, and his presence as the lead is enough to keep me far away. I don’t even think that Ansel is a charisma vacuum, exactly. Like, I could see him being a decent character actor, if John Hughes was still making movies and we were living in the 1980s and we needed an actor to play the preppy villain in all of those movies. That would be Ansel’s niche and he would do it well. But leading man? No. Anyway, Ansel covers the latest issue of Billboard and… at least he seems somewhat self-aware about how people really dislike him. Some highlights:

Why he retired as a DJ: “I was bored of making the same 128 bpm club record”

The backlash against his douche-bro friends, The Chainsmokers: “It’s a prime example of how success makes everyone hate you if you’re not underground,…And I’ve also been there. It becomes a meme to hate somebody. But don’t be like, ‘They seem like they’re so bro-y.’ They were never trying to fool anyone into thinking they weren’t bro-y.” He takes a deep breath. “Sorry if I sound heated. It’s just so easy to be a hater.”

Career goals: “There are a lot of things I want to do, and I never want people to be like, ‘Ugh, that guy singing? Desperate.’ Eventually, I hope I can have a career that’s uncategorizable. And that’s hard. I think that would be very difficult to do. But I’m hopefully going to pull it all off.”

He was one of the top actors at his fancy private school in Manhattan: “[It’s] like being the quarterback on the football team at a Texas high school.”

On what attracted him to electronic music: “When I heard electronic music, it felt like my thing,” says Elgort. Rock concerts “sucked. It felt like everyone was old. No one’s jumping up and down or dancing. It’s awkward as f–k. But at EDM concerts, everyone’s going ape sh-t and having a blast. It felt like youth to me.”

He doesn’t go to trendy, hipster places in New York: “Some people are like, ‘You’re from New York, have you been to, like, insert-five-really-douchey-places?’ I haven’t been to any of those places. I like my solid places.”

He’s frequently cited on podcast “Who? Weekly” about not-totally-recognizable celebrities: “That’s cool. I don’t walk around calling attention to myself. It’s important to be able to blend in; otherwise you turn into a Hollywood douche bag. I’m sure plenty of people think I am one, too. I’m super easy to hate. But it’s fine. It’s hard to be liked and successful.”

His Frank Ocean story: They met at the Met Ball, when Frank Ocean approached him. “I was like, ‘He looks like Frank Ocean … but why is he being so nice to me?’” recalls Elgort. “He said he had seen me singing ‘City of Stars’ [from La La Land] on Instagram, and he said, ‘You have an amazing voice.’ ” Post-Met Ball, the two hung out in Chinatown, “and no one bothered us, never,” says Elgort. “Then we walked into an ice cream store with a lot of kids, and after two minutes it was like, ‘OK, let’s bounce.’”

[From Billboard]

I’ll admit, I sat here and read the entire article and I enjoyed every minute of it. To be fair, Ansel doesn’t seem like a BAD guy. But he’s absolutely a douche-bro type. He grew up very wealthy and well-connected and he seems to walk around like the King of New York. But at least he’s not whining about how people don’t like him or that he’s misunderstood or whatever. He’s not trying to convince anyone that he’s anything other than an ‘80s teen-movie villain. It’s refreshing, and I laughed a few times during this piece. Bless.

AE1

Photos courtesy of Billboard.

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29 Responses to “Ansel Elgort: ‘I’m super easy to hate…. it’s hard to be liked and successful’”

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  1. perplexed says:

    He didn’t really say anything that was untrue, but he still sounded annoying. I can’t put my finger on why.

    • third ginger says:

      He went to the same “how to give an interview” school as Miles Teller. But, in fairness, I will say what I always do. In show business, you can never predict who will become a star.

    • Alex says:

      I found it annoying too. It’s that since quality that always gets me

    • Arock says:

      Cause he’s a dick, that’s why. It’s the constant humble brag, “I’m really just a normal human, no really. Oh! thank you, no I’m just an artist with a lot of talent, Good looks, and money- I guess you could say I’m blessed but the real heros are our teachers”.
      What a tit.

    • El Bob says:

      Wonder no more!

      For today’s Vocabulary Builder, I proudly present to you the German word “Backpfeifengesicht“!

      It roughly translates into “a face in search of a fist”.

      Germans have an appropriate word for everything.

    • G says:

      Because he is, as Kaiser says, a douche-bro. A dyed-in-the-wool douche-bro. Even true and reasonable statements sound douchey when uttered by a douche-bro.

  2. Sarah L says:

    The male Olivia Munn. For some reason Hollywood will keep trying and trying to make them “happen”, but in reality no one really cares.

    • Christo says:

      I honestly felt the same way about this guy when I first saw him. And, then, I stumbled onto The Fault In Our Stars one lazy Saturday afternoon, and I got it. He was winsome, humble, and genuinely cute in that movie. He has the same effect on me as Kristen Bell. I see them coming and my mind automatically wants to hate them (admittedly, something I should work on), but they totally blow me away with how much I like them once they start talking.

  3. Lucy says:

    The headline + his face in the header picture = LOL. Still not buying him.

  4. Pandy says:

    Who is this guy?? He’s a bit up his own butt. Best actor at his private school … uh huh.

    • hannah89 says:

      has rich parents, trying to brand himself as straight heartthrob actor.

      hope nobody blackmails him

  5. Alleycat says:

    He’s very whiny. Like, he he’s not whining that no one understands him, but he pouting that things aren’t going the way he thought they would (aka liked and successful). Also, I’m not shocked that Frank Ocean hangs out with him, as he hangs out with kardashians too.

  6. JA says:

    Hmmm when youre born on 3rd base is it really that hard to hit a home run and be successful in life??? God he sounds like the dbs in high school, they are well aware they sound like/are dbs but keep talking. He’s so young and hip its tragic how haters gonna hate :-/

  7. kaye says:

    who?

  8. Radley says:

    I think the problem is average white guys just aren’t what’s cool right now. But they’ve had a nice long run. And the world being what it is, I’m sure he’ll be back in style soon.

  9. Odette says:

    Once again, I’m reminded I’m officially in the “who?” age bracket. His answers? Groan-worthy, for me.

  10. nemera34 says:

    It looks like he has read some really big named actor’s interviews. Took some of the things they have said about themselves and applied it to his life because he saw something similar. I can hear a few actors statements or thoughts in what he is saying.

    I still don’t know him.. but I’m getting old.

  11. Naddie says:

    Lol at the “‘80s teen-movie villain”. I’d be embarrassed.

  12. Sullivan says:

    Take a seat, bro.

  13. Triedmetday says:

    I read the heading as Life In THE last lane! Him so forlorn? I mean CORNY!

  14. Eve S says:

    There’s nothing interesting or engaging about him. I’d hate to be an entertainment journalist, it seems like every second article in any given magazine is a fluff piece about a rich person’s son or daughter.

  15. Kate says:

    Who’s that?

  16. elle says:

    He has an emo cry face like whatshisface who plays Jon Snow.

    • Lucy says:

      At least Kit (Sad Face, haha) has a sense of humor about his image. This guy, on the other hand, has bought into his own hype.

  17. Cecilia says:

    He’s FETCH 😂

  18. Ayra. says:

    He’s so into his delusions of grandeur, it’s actually hilarious.

    I’ve decided to become an actress. Talent doesnt seem to be a necessity, only connections. I just have to become well-connected and voilà.

  19. Idalia says:

    I think every actor should have a different way to express their own personality. And i think he is doing exactly that. In the exact way that im telling how i feel about him. I dont think be is walking around like ” the king of New York”, but where else is he supposed to live. I just want to say that i love him. If you dont like him, then why are you chasing him around tryimg to make him feel like he is hated. 😕. Have a great day😉