Joel Courtney of “The Kissing Booth 2” on Lee Flynn and Elle Evans’ “Soulmate” Status
From
Teen Vogue
: Joel Courtney of “The Kissing Booth 2” on Lee Flynn and Elle Evans’ “Soulmate” Status
The actor opens up about the giant “family reunion” feeling of returning to make the sequel.
Lee Flynn (Joel Courtney) and Elle Evans (Joey King) have always been the heart of The Kissing Booth franchise.
It’s their friendship — with all of it’s special, somewhat confusing rules — that dominates the plot, even amid other relationship and school-related anxieties. That’s true for the movie’s sequel, too, and luckily, Joel and Joey have an IRL friendship to bolster the platonic chemistry between their characters.
“Elle and Lee are soulmates,” Joel says, though he clarifies they’re not the kind that end up dating. For Joel, returning to film The Kissing Booth 2 last year felt like a “family reunion.” He shares that he flew over to South Africa with his dad for filming on the same plane as Joey and co-star Taylor Zakhar Perez (who plays Marco). “I was sitting with my dad and Joey and Taylor had seats next to each other. I kept looking over and they were laughing together and having a great time and bonding. And I was like, ‘Aw, I love my dad, but I wish I could be with those guys.’”'
In the sequel, as in the first movie, rules are meant to be broken. This time around, the big rule is that Elle and Lee will go to college together at their dream school, the University of California at Berkeley. But priorities soon shift for Elle, who wants to apply to colleges in Boston where her boyfriend Noah Flynn (Jacob Elordi) attends school with new friend Chloe (Maisie Richardson-Sellers). Meanwhile, Lee has problems of his own balancing his friendship with Elle and his growing relationship with girlfriend Rachel (Meganne Young).
Though Rachel and Elle have tension between them, Joel likes that The Kissing Booth 2 ultimately puts the blame for their conflict on Lee. He’s the one learning how to be open and honest with the people he loves. “Everything that's happening between Elle and Rachel is Lee's fault,” Joel says. “It's his lack of communication. It's his lack of strength being able to say something, hold his ground, and make it happen.”
The trio eventually figure themselves out, but the end of the second movie leaves things open for a potential third film. “If the third movie were to happen, I know what Lee would want,” he says of Lee and Elle’s plan for Berkeley. “But it's all about Elle, her decisions and how they affect her life.”
Hopefully, a third film would feature just as much stunt action as Joel got to experience in the second; in one extended scene, he engages in a veritable Rube Goldberg machine of accidents. “Doing my own stunts is really fun,” Joel says. “Finding out how Lee runs into a cake was just one of my favorite things about filming this movie. It took a long time to get because there were so many segments, we would film them all individually.”
Next up for Joel is his recently announced Lionsgate project Jesus Revolution, which will likely begin filming in 2021. He’s also starting a YouTube channel with fiancée Mia Scholink, where they’ll combine their photography and digital editing hobbies. They’re currently planning their wedding in the hopes of getting married later this year, though he says COVID-19 is making those decisions more difficult.
In the meantime, he’s reflecting on the directions of his career and what he’s focused on for the future. “I am more aware of how fluid a career can be, the ebb and flow,” Joel Courtney says. “I started out on Super 8, a huge movie that made my life completely take a turn. Then I started working on indie films and passion projects and learned how to understand the industry, and then had The Kissing Booth blow back up in such an unexpected and completely enjoyable way.“
It's one of those things where you see a career as hills and valleys. I don't know what's going to happen in five years, but I just know that I love acting and I'm going to continue to pursue it with the best of the ability that I have.”