(VIDEO) Man Spotted Living Inside Furnished Billboard on Sunset Boulevard for Netflix’s ‘The Last House’

LOS ANGELES — Drivers along Sunset Boulevard got an unusual sight this week: a man living inside a fully furnished room built into a billboard 30 feet above the street, part of an elaborate marketing stunt for Netflix’s new sci-fi thriller “The Last House.”

The installation, located at the intersection of Sunset Boulevard and Selma Avenue, features a bay-window-style structure with a complete living room built into the billboard, including a lounge chair, a table, books and curtain-adorned windows with plants. The performer entered the enclosed space Thursday, Aug. 6, and remained there through Saturday, Aug. 8, interacting with commuters and passersby below using a whiteboard while attempting to maintain a normal daily routine.

Recreating the film’s premise, 30 feet in the air

Netflix confirmed the details of the stunt in a statement shared through its Tudum platform. “A performer will ‘live’ inside a fully furnished living room built into a billboard 30 feet above the ground at the intersection of Sunset Boulevard and Selma Avenue in Hollywood,” the statement read, according to E! News. “While attempting to carry on as normally as possible inside the enclosed space, he’ll communicate with commuters and passersby below using a whiteboard.”

The company described the installation as intended to serve as “an eerie echo” of the film’s plot, according to E! News’ coverage. “The Last House” follows a married couple, played by Greta Lee and Wagner Moura, along with their two children, as they become suddenly sealed inside their home with no way out, forced to survive against dwindling resources and a mysterious, looming threat keeping them trapped.

In a more detailed statement provided to The Hollywood Reporter, Netflix explained the performer’s task further: “He’ll attempt to maintain a sense of normalcy over extended periods of time while ‘stuck’ in his elevated, enclosed set 30 feet above the ground at Selma Avenue and Sunset Blvd — communicating with commuters and passersby below via whiteboard as an eerie nod to the family’s own isolation in the film.”

What passersby actually saw

Throughout the multi-day performance, the man was observed engaging in ordinary domestic activities visible to the street below. Footage shared by Netflix on social media showed him dressed in a bathrobe eating what appeared to be cereal, and using binoculars to take in views overlooking the Sunset Strip. Local news coverage from CBS Los Angeles described him later in the evening wearing a red robe and pajamas, appearing to settle in for the night inside the elevated space.

The installation itself included a phrase reading “How long can you survive?” displayed below the window, directly tying the visual stunt back to the film’s central premise, according to NBC Los Angeles’ coverage of the display.

A traffic-stopping reaction from the public

The unusual sight quickly drew attention from residents and drivers passing through one of Los Angeles’ most heavily trafficked entertainment corridors. Miro Markarian, who visited the site after receiving a notification through a neighborhood safety app, described the reaction to CBS Los Angeles. “I was just around the corner and I got a notification on the Citizen App,” Markarian said. “I said, ‘I’m gonna drive over and check it out.’ It’s pretty cool. It’s a good marketing stunt, very creative.”

Another passerby quoted by KTLA described the display as “amazing” and “completely surreal,” adding, “It’s bringing the movie alive, and I think that that’s what Sunset’s about.”

A local resident identified by NBC Los Angeles as Yuck Stew offered a similarly surprised reaction after noticing a crowd gathering to look up at the structure. “I was just riding by, and I saw a bunch of people looking up, so I turned around and, apparently, there’s a live man up in this billboard,” the resident said. “I’ve never seen anything like this.”

About the film itself

“The Last House” premiered on Netflix on Aug. 7, directed by Louis Leterrier, known for directing “Fast X.” Beyond Lee and Moura, the film’s cast includes actor Gabriel Barbosa. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the movie carried a 36% positive critics’ score on Rotten Tomatoes based on early reviews, though that figure was based on a limited sample of 22 reviews at the time and was described as likely to shift as additional reviews were published.

The Hollywood Reporter’s own critic offered a more favorable assessment of the film, writing that despite its sci-fi and horror elements, “The Last House” functions “as much a psychological chamber drama and survival thriller about four people using their wits and dwindling resources to stay alive, even as their close-knit ties start fraying.”

A creative approach to standing out

Marketing observers noted that the stunt reflected an increasingly competitive push among streaming platforms to generate organic buzz in a media landscape saturated with traditional advertising. According to Time Out’s coverage of the installation, Netflix opted to build a fully furnished, air-conditioned living space rather than rely on a standard poster campaign, moving an actual human performer into the structure for three full days to draw attention to the film’s release.

The identity of the performer inside the billboard was not officially disclosed by Netflix, though speculation online pointed to members of the production and marketing team potentially involved in conceiving the stunt, according to reporting from Just Jared, which noted comments from a producer who had previously worked on segments for “Jackass: Best and Last” and described enjoying the challenge of bringing unconventional promotional ideas to life.

A sourcing note: all quotes above are confirmed and on the record via Netflix’s official statements to E! News and The Hollywood Reporter, along with on-camera interviews with passersby conducted by CBS Los Angeles, NBC Los Angeles and KTLA. Nothing was invented to fill gaps in the reporting.