Pizza is one of the most universally beloved foods. It’s a go-to for gatherings because, unlike other foods, it has been known for decades, centuries even, to be a people pleaser. “Who hates pizza?” is a question usually answered with a resounding “no one.” But now that question has a surprising new answer in Academy Award winner Daniel Kaluuya. Kaluuya did not necessarily say that he hates pizza, but one might assume that his reaction to being offered pizza would be a cruel but polite, “nope”.
The actor, who is the star of writer/director Jordan Peele’s highly anticipated horror-comedy hybrid Nope, appeared as a guest on Hot Ones and with lots of very hot spices in his mouth, revealed his spicy take on pizza. About 16 minutes into the episode and after taking a big drink of water, Hot Ones host Sean Evans asks a very vulnerable Kaluuya for his take on Chicago-style deep dish pizza.
“Pizza’s just like… pizza’s an open sandwich. If you really look at it, it’s like, cheese.” Kaluuya said. “My tongue is going nuts,” he says, still providing no specific answer to the question about deep dish style. “It’s like cheese. They just grill the cheese, put some bread on it, cook the bread,” he said. “It’s an open sandwich.”
Kaluuya says the reason he feels this way is because he had a friend who worked at Pizza Hut. His friend used to work Friday nights so Kaluuya would meet him at Pizza Hut at the end of his shift so they could go out together. In these moments, Kaluuya saw the inner workings of the Pizza Hut. “Then I was just like, I’m not convinced on pizzas,” he said. “It’s overrated.”
Daniel Kaluuya is not wrong. Pizza is, in the end, simply bread with cheese on it and, ultimately, an open sandwich. But it is still delicious, even if it is from Dominos or DiGiorno. Maybe Kaluuya has only had Pizza Hut?
Nope, whose plot has been kept under wraps, hits theaters on July 22.