“It sort of came and went but I really it” — SNL star Julio Torres shares his opinions on France’s Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets

SAG-AFTRA Members Maintain Picket Lines Across New York City During Strike - Source: Getty
SAG-AFTRA Members Maintain Picket Lines Across New York City During Strike | Image Source: Getty

Comedian and former SNL writer Julio Torres recently revealed his surprising love for Luc Besson's 2017 sci-fi epic Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets in an interview with The Guardian. Despite the film's lackluster reviews and its reputation as France's priciest picture, Torres acknowledged his sincere admiration for its opulent imagery and audacious narrative. He said,

"It is apparently France’s most expensive film and it was not well received. It sort of came and went but I really liked it. I love the spectacle of it, how big it is, how beautiful it is, he praised during the interview."

During the conversation, he also discussed his first-ever comedy show, his awkward interactions with celebrities, and many of his likes and dislikes. From his biggest fashion crime to his favorite word, nothing was left off the table. Along with the questions, his answers offered a glimpse from behind the scenes and how, over the span of his career, his wit has only gotten better.

Like Valerian, Torres defies simple classification. His viewpoint is consistently somewhat off-center, but in the greatest way, whether he's discussing his favorite futuristic failure or admitting to mistakenly thinking Shawn Mendes was an SNL intern. This lighthearted perspective has shaped his cult-favorite comedy and cinema careers.


Julio Torres reflects on his SNL days and shares his personal favorites

In an interview with The Guardian, Julio Torres, the adored former SNL star, discussed his life before and after the sketch show, his personal peculiarities, and the cultural treasures he cherishes. With the same surreal flair that made him a hit on the show, Torres provided a deliciously eccentric summary of his own likes, covering everything from his favorite phrase to his fashion faux pas.

When Julio Torres worked on SNL, he had a funny case of mistaken identification. He related an incident in which he thought singer Shawn Mendes was an overconfident intern.

"No one cringed, no one was harmed – but I did think that Shawn Mendes was an intern. I was like, what is this intern doing just like strolling the halls?"

Torres acknowledged that Mendes' confidence perplexed him, initially comparing it to a fearless NYU student.

In addition to his humorous tales, Torres revealed details about his own tastes. He mentioned that he didn't like some geometric shapes:

"A pentagon. or an octagon. I find it displacing because of its rigidity," SNL star said.

He was fond of the letters 'Ss', 'Vs', 'Zs', 'Ys', and 'Qs', but he especially disliked the letter 'P'.

Torres also explored his own viewpoints on commonplace items and situations. In his refrigerator, he found mold on leftover takeout that formed "beautiful, strange patterns" and thought about the lifeforms they produce. Regarding animals, he hypothesized that if they could speak, raccoons would be the most amiable. In a fanciful interpretation of color, he stated that he wanted to add "clear" to the rainbow.


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Edited by Sroban Ghosh