How Justin Kuritzkes Went From Potion Seller to Hollywood

Know Your Meme

Justin Kuritzkes took over YouTube 10 years ago with his "Potion Seller" sketch. But you might be surprised where he is now. He was secretly grinding his way to Hollywood. Now he works with Austin Butler and Zendaya.  Watch our interview with Justin from 2021: https://youtu.be/gmhpKLnkUUI  Check out our new MEME STORE: https://thememestore.com/  Subscribe to our channel to learn more about trending memes, hear interviews from meme personalities and more! https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCbrPqq29C9Q_TQP7OFFRzcw?sub_confirmation=1

Transcript

00:00If you were on the internet 10 years ago, you probably watched Potion Seller.

00:03Hello, Potion Seller.

00:05Justin Kuritzges used his Max Photo Booth app as his brush and YouTube as his canvas.

00:09The art he gave the world was the Potion Seller sketch.

00:13My strongest potions will kill you, traveler. You can't handle my strongest potions.

00:18He played both characters himself using different filters to change his face.

00:21But his story now may surprise you. In fact,

00:23he's probably one of the most successful meme alums.

00:26He studied literary arts at Brown University and during that time,

00:29uploaded a few now iconic self-taped skits online.

00:32The first big skit being a video called Dolores about an old woman.

00:36It's not so bad, but life used to be better.

00:40Kuritzges began to gather a reputation for using simple photo booth filters to create

00:44characters out of thin air. His quick improvisational style often made him

00:47suppress a giggle mid-sketch. Like in his 2013 hit In a Perfect World,

00:51he spends a nearly minute-long video repeating one phrase while tilting his face to create

00:55caricatures of his own features. In a perfect world, men like me would not exist.

01:02In a perfect world, men like me would not exist.

01:07Far and away, his breakout hit, though, was Potion Seller.

01:10In the skit, a brave and square-jawed knight pleads for a strong potion from

01:13a curmudgeonly wizard who insists he could not handle it.

01:16A world of fan art and fan remakes of the skit littered the internet.

01:19An entire subreddit dedicated to the video was created.

01:22In his interview with KnowYourMeme, he mentioned that the year Potion Seller took off was the year

01:26he had just moved to New York and was struggling to make inroads in the theater scene there while

01:30attempting to become a playwright. Potion Seller, enough of these games.

01:34I'm going into battle, and I need your strongest potions.

01:39His loyal fans, however, were saddened to see his ceasing of uploads in 2020.

01:43Little did they know he was cooking up bigger things.

01:46In 2022, it was announced that Luca Guadagnino was to direct a movie starring megastars like Zendaya.

01:51But attached was a familiar name, written by Justin Kuritskis.

01:55His script was eventually turned into the Hollywood hit Challengers.

02:02His wife also directed the film Past Lives.

02:04In a slew of interviews, everyone wanted to ask Justin how his YouTube skits led to

02:08his Hollywood writing career. Kuritskis is kicking off from his Challengers victory to

02:12work on a host of new projects, including an adaptation of Don Winslow's best-selling

02:17cartel trilogy City on Fire starring Austin Butler.

02:20It just goes to show you that a success story can come from anywhere,

02:23and that you should never let your memes be dreams.

Category

Transcript

Recommended