Apparently, we sort of have The Emoji Movie to thank for giving Jordan Peele that final push he needed to move into directing.
Jordan Peele is now an Oscar-nominated director for his iconic film Get Out. Before moving behind the camera, however, Peele was a highly successful actor, making millions of us laugh with his work on shows like MadTV and Key & Peele.
Get Out filmmaker Jordan Peele already working on his next social thriller
And while it’s not unheard of for a successful actor to make a transition into writing and directing, Peele’s decision to move away from acting came in large part from The Emoji Movie, of all things. As Peele described it at the Directors Guild of America Awards, he was offered the role of the Poop Emoji in the animated film. Unsure what to do with such a bizarre offer, Peele decided to sleep on it.
Understandably, Peele needed time to decide how willing he was to literally play poop. The next day when he asked his manager how much the offer was for, he found out that the role had been offered to Sir Patrick Stewart, and that was sort of the push he needed to move away from acting.
Ultimately, we’re glad that Peele didn’t wind up in The Emoji Movie. Not only was the film largely panned by critics, but by jumping away from acting, Peele had the creative energy to create a truly amazing, original film in Get Out. Peele is nominated for Academy Awards for both screenwriting and directing Get Out, and the film is up for Best Picture this year, and we’re so happy that he got the push he needed to make such a brave jump into writing and directing.
While you wouldn’t suspect that a story beginning with “and so I lost the role of the Poop Emoji” to end so happily, this one most certainly does. We’ll definitely be thinking thankful thoughts towards The Emoji Movie while we’re rooting for Jordan Peele and Get Out at the 2018 Oscars.