A Man Lived Inside a Billboard Above Sunset Boulevard for 24 Hours. Netflix Paid Him to Do It.

The stunt is a rare marketing play for a company that usually lets its algorithm do the work. But Netflix could use the buzz. By Jonathan Small | edited by Dan Bova | Aug 10, 2026 An actor named Nathan Shoop spent over 24 hours living inside a billboard shaped like a house, 30 feet above Sunset Boulevard in LA. He was there to promote the Netflix movie “The Last House.” Shoop had no Wi-Fi, no phone, but he did have air conditioning, according to the New York Times, which was welcome in the 90 degree heat. It was an unusual stunt for Netflix, which usually lets its recommendation algorithm promote content. But the company could use the attention. It hasn’t had a hit in a while. Kevin Hart’s “72 Hours” pulled in less than half the views his 2022 film “Me Time” got in the same three-day window. Netflix shares dropped 8% last month after the company gave weaker-than-expected revenue guidance. “When you do something like this and it connects, the value is immense,” said Jonathan Helfgot, Netflix’s VP of marketing. The company ran a similar stunt in April, hooking actor Charlize Theron to a climbing rig on a Times Square billboard for “Apex.” Shoop, for his part, seems to be enjoying himself. Asked whether this was the best-paying union job he’s had in a while, he wrote back on a whiteboard: “We’re being paid?” An actor named Nathan Shoop spent over 24 hours living inside a billboard shaped like a house, 30 feet above Sunset Boulevard in LA. He was there to promote the Netflix movie “The Last House.” Shoop had no Wi-Fi, no phone, but he did have air conditioning, according to the New York Times, which was welcome in the 90 degree heat. It was an unusual stunt for Netflix, which usually lets its recommendation algorithm promote content. But the company could use the attention. It hasn’t had a hit in a while. Kevin Hart’s “72 Hours” pulled in less than half the views his 2022 film “Me Time” got in the same three-day window. Netflix shares dropped 8% last month after the company gave weaker-than-expected revenue guidance. “When you do something like this and it connects, the value is immense,” said Jonathan Helfgot, Netflix’s VP of marketing. The company ran a similar stunt in April, hooking actor Charlize Theron to a climbing rig on a Times Square billboard for “Apex.” Shoop, for his part, seems to be enjoying himself. Asked whether this was the best-paying union job he’s had in a while, he wrote back on a whiteboard: “We’re being paid?” Jonathan Small is a bestselling author, journalist, producer, and podcast host. For 25 years, he... Read more