It’s Okay If You Call Christopher Mintz-Plasse ‘McLovin’

Apparently, there’s no place in the galaxy that Christopher Mintz-Plasse can travel without someone calling out, “McLovin!” That includes Mars.

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Mintz-Plasse recently signed on for a simulated space mission called Stars on Mars, a new FOX reality show where William Shatner directs a diverse group of celebrities through a faux-trip to the red planet. Tom Schwartz of Vanderpump Rules fame was pumped when he entered the living quarters to meet Mintz-Plasse, gushing his fandom for Superbad. In a private moment, Schwartz told viewers, “I’m not going to say his name from the movie. I’m sure he’s so sick of that.” But that kind of discretion didn’t apply to former Super Bowl champ Marshawn Lynch, who greeted the actor with a hearty, “Hey, McLovin’!”

As you might expect, it’s not the first time Mintz-Plasse has experienced this. “When Superbad came out, I was like, ‘Oh my God, how cool is this? Everybody knows me. Girls like me for once. Yay!’” he tells me earlier this week. But after a few years, reality set in. “You know, it's tough. I made the movie when I was 17. So the movie’s out for three years, I’m 21 years old, I’m still a young adult, still developing. I’m like, ‘I'm more than just this!’ It’s just frustrating.”

But as time went on, with more popular movies under his belt like Kick-Ass, Neighbors and Role Models, acceptance and even gratitude took over. “Years go by and people still want to talk about Superbad,” he marvels. “That’s a beautiful thing. If someone wants to call me McLovin, that’s fine because I get it. Come up to me with respect and grace, and I will give it straight back.” 

If not Superbad’s McLovin, is there another character that Mintz-Plasse would like to be remembered for? Maybe there already is. “In the superhero world, Kick-Ass is very beloved,” he says. “I went to a Comic-Con out in Liverpool a few months ago to sign autographs and meet a bunch of fans. It was like 60 percent Superbad photos and 40 percent Kick-Ass photos. In that world, they really love that movie.” 

What movie do fans on Mars like best? Unfortunately, Mintz-Plasse won’t be around to find out, as Lynch and crew deemed him to be the least “mission critical” on the show’s first episode, sending him back to Earth. “I spoke that into existence. In my pre-show interview, I was like, ‘I just don’t want to be the first one gone,’” he says. 

The show’s initial mission, a harrowing trip into the red desert to repair malfunctioning space equipment, turns into a free-for-all. It’s too bad for Mintz-Plasse, who believes his enthusiasm for escape rooms and puzzles would have served the team well if he’d stuck around. “I'm good with math, and I like doing outdoorsy, exciting things,” he says with a grin. “So it was just a bummer.”