Noah Centineo: ‘The only thing that really matters is how you make people feel’

Cover

The last time we discussed Noah Centineo was when we talked about the To All the Boys I’ve Loved sequel. I hadn’t done my research to know that those books are a trilogy, so of course they are making the sequel. I’m sorry about that and thank you for letting me know. Speaking of things I don’t know, it seems there is a lot about Noah that I wasn’t aware of. He’s featured in the upcoming Harper Bazaar men’s digital cover (honestly, didn’t know that was thing either). A few things surprised me, like the fact that Noah assumed the father role after his parents’ divorce or that he’s been sober for two years. Or that his career goal is to choose projects that will ultimately help others.

On the impact of changing his hairstyle: Some people in my life think that I’ve kind of shifted into a more masculine brooding type. They treat me differently. People are more intimidated. Maybe not intimidated but … a little timid. The buzz cut guy with scars on his face is a little different than, like, long-hair cute boy.

On not minding being in the public eye: “It’s more of a blessing than a curse. But ask me again in five years when maybe I’m boxed into it and can’t get out. If that’s my path, I might have a different answer for you, but at this point in time, I’m trying to enjoy every single moment of it.”

On his drug use before becoming sober: “There wasn’t really much I wouldn’t do. I never, ever injected anything, which is good. I smoked a lot of things. I was really upset, man. It was a really dark time in my life.”

On living with his mom after his parents’ divorce: “As the 15-year-old living in close quarters with my mom, I felt an obligation to step up and fill a role, fill a position that was vacant at that time, you know, and in doing so, I bristled and I kind of shoved down a lot of emotion.”

On his relationship with his current girlfriend: “It’s the longest relationship I’ve ever been in. She’s very good at monogamy. Actually, I love monogamy too.” He trashes the fantasy of the one-night stand. “Dude, you ever actually have one? Ninety percent of the time, they’re not good.”

On risking losing fans based on projects he takes on: “I don’t really care how people find me or why they like me. If I can maybe help them in some way through them discovering me, that makes it worth it. I found that’s the only thing that really matters is how you make people feel.”

[From Harpers Bazaar]

Apparently, Noah’s drug of choice was Molly, although as he said, there were a lot of others too. He said his drug use got the better of him when he was 17 and struggling to make it in Hollywood. He quit the day before his 21st birthday. We half-joke about how this industry will chew someone up and spit them out but it really can. And if Noah was already feeling the pressure to fill his father’s role, I can see how it got the better of him. But wow, turning his life around that dramatically just out of his teens, that’s commendable. Thank goodness drugs didn’t rob him of his young adult years.

I was intrigued by his answer about his projects. I think most people hope what they do helps others, of course, but as a lover of rom-com, I appreciate that Noah gets how they make me feel. Many times I watch a rom-com to pull me out of a funk and I love that he’s basically just extended his hand to me for the next time I’m down in the dumps. I don’t want to oversell him, because I barely know him, but I feel like Noah gets it. He understands his heartthrob status and doesn’t dismiss it like some actors who just want to be taken seriously. I disagree on the one-night stand part though. Granted I was single and free to have them at the time, but I’ve had some great one-night stands. Like, truly memorable.

Harpers sent this video along to support their article. It’s a spoof on Noah taking his heartthrob status too seriously and it is, if I may say so, utterly darling. Noah is certified precious. And then I read the credits at the end – Noah is one of the writers. Yup, this guy gets it.

What he doesn’t get, apparently, is how many jokes I want to make about this cowboy hat photo.

Noah_Image 1

Noah Image 3

Photo credit: Thomas Whiteside/Harpers Bazaar and YouTube

You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.

12 Responses to “Noah Centineo: ‘The only thing that really matters is how you make people feel’”

Comments are Closed

We close comments on older posts to fight comment spam.

  1. Lucy says:

    I loved TATBILB and I’m already reading Part 2 (which comes out on Netflix today!) is just as great. Noah is great in the movie. He obviously has the Ruffalo-esque good looks, but he’s also funny, charismatic and talented. His chemistry with Lana Condor (the protagonist) is off the roof. He sounds mature and earnest IRL, I don’t think he’d ever talked about any of this before.

    • Snowslow says:

      If I put my cynical hat on, it’s the new trend for celebrities to get a following: admit to some sort of addiction (as long as it’s not sex addiction, that can blow in your face no pun intended), mental illness or ‘flaw’. Not that it’s not true, but at the right moment and for the right film / album, it can open a new perspective on the star.
      Without my cynical hat I’d say it’s good to demystify these creatures because celebrity culture without irony / some distance / a sociological take is truly terrible.

      • xdanix says:

        I know the kind of thing you mean, but to be fair to the guy, he hasn’t just brought this up now to promote his new movie. He’s mentioned being sober a few times before, said similar things about his mental health problems etc on Instagram videos from around late 2017 that got brought back by fans and blew up when the first TATB movie became so huge in 2018. From what I can remember, it wasn’t even an interview or video to promote anything specific- I think it was just an Instagram live or something. This is the first time I’ve heard him go into more specific detail about his problems, but definitely not the first time he’s ever talked about it.

      • Snowslow says:

        Yes @xdanix but in the past none of this would have been shared – it would have crucified him, especially at this age people would have found it a bad example and would have clutched their pearls. I am pretty sure his agent filters the way he promotes himself and every actor has a very well groomed image.
        However, I am also on board with this more human image of actors and I am sure there is truth to it.
        In Portugal we say, ‘with the truth you deceive me’.

  2. Snowslow says:

    God help me I have an armpit fetish.

    Am I the only one? I blame the Red Hot Chilli Peppers booklet thingy for the album of Blood Sugar Sex Magic.

  3. smcollins says:

    Truth be told I had no idea who he was and almost didn’t click on the post. Man, am I glad that I did! The video really did it for me, super-cute AND funny & self-depricating? Yes, please. I’ll definitely be keeping an eye out for him now 😉

  4. Originaltessa says:

    He’s actually a pretty decent actor. He kind of irks me irl, but onscreen he’s very charming and pretty good. He’s missing a chin though.

  5. Vegan says:

    I had the pleasure of working on set and dressing him a few years ago on a film, he was one of several young cast and the most memorable one out of all because of the way he conducted himself with the crew. He was kind lovely and grounded , I thought this one is going to go places and he has ! Good for him.

  6. BANANIE says:

    I really wanted to like TATBILB because my younger sister raved about the book, but I feel like they must have cut out scenes or didn’t take everything from the book. Because the whole relationship with her friend was weird. Like she had a best friend yet ate alone in the bathroom? And the friend kind of disappears halfway through the movie? I know the focus of the movie wasn’t on female friendship, but I think they were really lazy and half-assed that dynamic by not having it hang together well.