Nicholas Hoult is a bit of a maverick in that he works all the time, and yet it doesn’t feel like he’s in your face 24/7. For instance, and I know I’m aging myself here, but I distinctly remember it feeling like Helen Hunt was in everything for a spell after she won the Oscar for As Good As It Gets in 1998. She’s a terrific actress! But there was a wave of overexposure, so my hat’s off to Hoult for consistently gigging without annoying. Yet. He may be pushing it this season, though, with no fewer than three movies out right now, including Nosferatu. He and costar Lily-Rose Depp have been making the rounds doing press together, and recently both appeared on the Capital Evening radio show with host Jimmy Hill. Which somehow led to Hoult describing the time he had to eat ice cream for a scene, only the props dept had made a bowl of lard dyed to look like ice cream instead. I hate it when that happens!
While doing press for his most recent movie Nosferatu, Hoult and co-star Lily-Rose Depp appeared on the Capital Evening show with Jimmy Hill. Of course, the Skins actor had to share an impromptu anecdote about the one time he had a diva moment (via @bestofhoult on X), and honestly, I don’t blame him:
“The one time I’ve been a diva on set was when there was a scene where I was meant to be eating ice cream. Obviously I’m looking forward to it. And I get there, I take a bite of the ice cream and it’s lard mixed with food coloring and sugar. It was fake ice cream.”
That has got to be the worst unintentional prank ever. Imagine you’re craving ice cream on a nice hot day and you bite into a lump of lard. Hoult doesn’t say which movie he took a mouthful of lard for, although maybe that’s a good thing. I don’t think I would be able to watch whatever scene that is now without feeling sick.
Now, the X-Men actor is no stranger to working with food, given he was in the critically acclaimed dark comedy The Menu. In fact, this reaction to the “ice cream” is very reminiscent of his character in The Menu, who was a huge food snob. Although, eating lard is a different kind of horrifying than the wild moments that happened in Ralph Fiennes’ fictional restaurant.
I agree with the radio show host that Hoult’s reaction to the fake ice cream wasn’t even a diva move after hearing the actor describe the whole affair:
“It was absolutely disgusting, and my character was meant to eat a lot of this throughout the day. And I was like, ‘What is this?’ And they were like, ‘Oh, it’s lard. We thought the ice cream might melt, because of the set and the heat and everything like that.’ I was like, ‘I don’t — no. That’s not gonna work for me.’ And so they went to Tesco’s around the corner and picked up a real load of ice cream for me.”
I have to agree with host Jimmy Hill here: No, Nicholas, it’s not being a diva to insist upon ice cream instead of lard, and I further applaud Hoult for making the production procure the new pints, as opposed to simply offering to purchase the replacements himself out of a combination of politeness and desperation. Culinary tomfoolery aside, I’d seriously like to hear this particular props department weigh in. Was this in earnest? Was it a prank? Had they checked in with Hoult’s team ahead of time to see if he was vegetarian? Did this conversation take place before filming, or was an entire shot wasted in which Hoult has a massive “WTF?!” face? (Which if exists must be released!) And just how hot was it on this set? Because, well, lard melts too! Props masters — explain yourselves!
Blessings on Hoult for living to tell this tale. Aside from Nosferatu, you can also also catch him in The Order and Juror #2 out now. He’s a fine actor, though I’m skeptical anything can ever reach the heights of what I still consider to be one of the best lines ever in all of cinema history, that he got to utter in The Favourite from 2018: “Must the duck be here?”
“The one time I've been a diva on set was when there was a scene that I was meant be eating ice cream. Obviously I'm looking forward to it. And I get there, I take a bite of the ice cream and it's lard mixed with food coloring and sugar. It was fake ice cream.” pic.twitter.com/TfPkXrDAsV
— best of nicholas hoult (@bestofhoult) January 3, 2025
Photos credit: IMAGO/Faye Sadou/Steve Vas/Avalon, Julie Edwards/Avalon, James Warren/Bang Showbiz/Avalon
He was absolutely fantastic in The Great. Trying to recall if there was an ice cream scene in that. Can anyone figure out which movie/series it was for??
He and Elle Fanning had amazing chemistry in that, too.
My amazon prime keep showing season 3 without allowing me watch wtf?
Another former child actor who turned out well both professionally and personally. Yay Nicholas!
The thought of being forced to eat lard like it is ice cream makes me want to gag, so good for Nicholas for putting his foot down.
I can understand why you might need some fake ice cream for a shot, but not for your MOUTH! That’s so disgusting! Sorry for shouting, but *shudders*
That’s a shit prop department. Lard is a great ice cream replacement, but not if actors are going to have to eat it! The issue is ice cream melts and the continuity is then off.
Turns out fake ice cream for actors to eat is made with canned frosting and powdered sugar. There’s a fun YouTube channel called Scott, Prop and Roll where a veteran prop guy goes through how they make fake stuff for movies and tells bad dad jokes. Here’s the one on fake ice cream: https://youtu.be/4QXiH83-BOU?
I remember him on Skins. Damn that show produced some stars: Nicolas, Dev Patel, Jack O’Connell and Daniel Kaluuya!