Superman fans were shooketh after seeing a resurfaced interview of Nicholas Hoult explaining why he doesn’t feel like “a beautiful person.”
Hoult, who has been a movie franchise darling from Mad Max to X-Men, is used to admirers complimenting his looks. I mean, even as the bald, scheming villain Lex Luthor, people were still out here blushing like Gilded Age debutantes trying to land a railroad tycoon.
But Hoult? He doesn’t let the catcalls—or, more accurately, polite British murmurs—go to his head.
In a 2023 Hits Radio interview, the 35-year-old English actor was asked point-blank: “How does it feel, in life, being such a beautiful person?”
Blushing and laughing, Hoult thanked the host and replied:
“That’s weird. I read something recently, I did a show called The Great, I play the emperor of Russia in that, and I saw a comment of someone on Twitter that said: ‘He looks like just the right amount of inbred to be a royal.'"
And honestly? He’s not wrong about Peter III’s questionable family tree.
For those who missed Hoult’s hit Hulu show—don’t worry, I got you.
The Great is a satirical, historically “occasionally accurate” dark comedy starring Hoult as Emperor Peter III, a man-child ruler with a love for vodka, war games, and emotionally terrorizing his wife; and Elle Fanning as Empress Catherine the Great, who went from outsider German princess to overthrowing her husband in the most glamorous coup d’état this side of Bridgerton.
Peter III, in real history, reigned for just six months before Catherine took the throne. He was awkward-looking, a little off-putting, and—historical portraits confirm—definitely had that “your parents were first cousins” inbred bone structure physique, which is, in fact, true for the real Peter III.
Hoult leaned into that in The Great, portraying him as equal parts hilarious, terrifying, and pitiful, with a flair for absurdity such as staging mock duels… with live ammunition.
Royal fun, right?
Referring to the Emperor’s antics and his dubious genetics, Hoult added:
“And so I don’t think I’m conventionally very handsome or anything. I don’t have the perks of being handsome because I look more inbred.”
Cue the internet collectively screaming, “Lies!”
You can watch the interview clip below:
Fans, naturally, disagreed—loudly. They rushed to social media to insist Hoult is objectively gorgeous. But maybe this is just part of his charm: he’s tall, ridiculously talented, and capable of playing everything from a tortured X-Men mutant to Nosferatu’s vampire chew toy, yet genuinely doesn’t see himself as a “beautiful person.”
I mean, it’s like Lex Luthor claiming that “he’s not really a bald guy.”
Even if Hoult truly believes he’s serving 18th-century royal inbreeding chic, he’s clearly in on the joke—and the internet had thoughts. Many, many thoughts.
You can view their reactions below:
Hoult and the Superman cast are currently celebrating a box office smash of $217 million, officially making it the highest-grossing superhero film, dethroning Marvel’s Fantastic Four: First Steps. And speaking of Superman, Hoult actually originally auditioned to play Superman, aka Clark Kent, but ultimately was cast as the villain, Lex Luthor.
And if you’d like to see Hoult squirm as strangers tell him he’s hot, his BuzzFeed Celeb Thirst Tweets video is right there waiting for you:
- YouTubeBuzzfeed Celeb/YouTube
The Great fans, you’re welcome.
@JamesTate121/X
