Joel Courtney
American actor Joel Courtney could not lead the same life as Lee, whom he plays in the “Kissing Both” films.
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- Henry Arnaud, Hollywood
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The actor took advantage of the confinement to organize his wedding.
–AFP
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On Netflix, “Kissing Both2” is one of the biggest audience hits of this summer. Californian Joel Courtney, 24, plays a teenager shared between the girl he loves and his best friend.
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Could you, like in the movie, have a girl as your best friend?
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To have a girl as your best friend, what a pain! It’s impossible for me. I am too romantic. I was friends for two years with a girl but we took our distance because she expected more from me. I don’t believe it’s possible to have a platonic relationship with a girl for a straight guy.
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Do you look like Lee in life?
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No. I am much more mature than my character, who often reacts like a kid in “Kissing Both”.
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How do we explain to our readers the attraction of these kissing stalls that are popular in the USA at school parties?
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With the virus, I don’t think a kissing booth is the place to be right now (laughs). But the “Kissing Both” is a rite of passage in adolescence where you kiss a stranger while blindfolded. There may be a spark. I know couples who have fallen in love after a simple kiss this way.
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What’s the craziest thing you’ve done for love?
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I left a girl because we were too young to get married. It broke my heart. Luckily, we met up last year and got engaged on last Valentine’s Day.
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How have you been living the past few months, when most of the filming has been stopped in Hollywood?
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A lot of people got bored staying locked in their homes. For us, it was almost a blessing not to have a shoot or a promo trip for our job. Mia’s family (editor’s note: Mia Scholink, a beauty influencer) lives in Arizona and I moved there with them to stay with Mia. We spent hours preparing for our wedding.
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Although the third film “Kissing Both” is already in post-production for 2021, most of the filming is at a standstill in Hollywood. How do you see the evolution of your career?
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With confinement, I discovered a passion for photography. I bought two cameras to learn the basics of taking pictures or portraits. I do not know if it will lead to something professional one day or if I will be interested in the directing while passing behind the lens but all this technical side of the show biz interests me more and more while I wouldn’t have thought for a second of doing anything other than the actor before everything stopped because of the virus.
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