Jacob Elordi established himself as one of the revelation figures of his generation, standing out for extreme transformations, absolute commitment and international recognition that was reflected in his recent Oscar nomination.
In conversation with the CBS Sunday Morning podcast, the Australian actor analyzed his methods, the challenges that marked his career and the way in which each role has left a deep mark on him.
For Elordi, playing Frankenstein’s creature under the direction of Guillermo del Toro was, in his words, the most demanding role he faced.
“It depended on the scene, but there were days when I spent ten or eleven hours in the makeup room depending on the complexity of the prosthetics,” he said during the interview with Tracy Smith.“On shorter days, it was five or six hours of makeup; that was like a relief,” she added.
The collaboration with del Toro was marked by total trust.”During filming, I hardly spoke; I stayed on the set, even during breaks. I only exchanged glances with Guillermo,” Elordi said.
On one of those occasions, he shared that the director told him: “I’ll let you know when you can break.”The actor explained that that phrase was fundamental for him: “I knew I could give myself completely and trust him.”
Regarding his working method, he made it clear: “It’s not about turning the character on or off. When I make a film, my 24 hours revolve around it: I eat, sleep and dream about the film.”
Reflecting on the impact of the role, he stated that “I felt that playing Frankenstein was like freeing myself from something I had inside. I was able to speak with more confidence about my work and that was thanks, in large part, to Guillermo’s inexhaustible inspiration.”
Elordi’s move to the series “Euphoria” meant the opportunity to play Nate, a “caped antagonist.””For me he wasn’t an unpleasant character; it was my job and a challenge,” he explained on the CBS Sunday Morning podcast.
As he explained, building Nate involved starting from the figure of a “typical adolescent athlete” and, in collaboration with creator Sam Levinson, deepening his internal contradictions.
The process sought to go beyond the surface to understand the motivations behind their behavior.In that sense, he maintained that “it was necessary to show why someone acts cruelly; there is always a story behind it that provides meaning and redeems part of the darkness.”
This perspective connects with his broader conception of youth representation on screen.“It is essential to give nuances, even to the toughest characters, and show adolescents represented with respect, not just sexualized,” he reflected.
His working method, he explained, maintains that same logic of total immersion regardless of the genre or tone of the project.“Whether it’s Euphoria or The KissingBooth, I completely immerse myself in the character to discover something new about myself,” he said.
The 28-year-old actor plays Heathcliff in the new film adaptation of Wuthering Heights directed by Emerald Fennell.Elordi recalled on the CBS Sunday Morning podcast how his incorporation into the project came about: “I received a message from Emerald asking me if I wanted to play Heathcliff. I said yes, and two weeks later I received the script.”
The actor found connections between this character and “Frankenstein”: “I took what served me from Frankenstein and brought it to Heathcliff. Both share romantic and gothic aspects, they are Byronic antiheroes.”
He also highlighted the artisanal approach of the two projects: “Both films were made with real sets, hand-woven costumes and very little digital technology. I would like them to function as complementary works, offering an authentic experience to the public.”
The announcement of his Oscar nomination surprised him and his mother, in a moment that, according to him, had a special symbolic value.”As a teenager I practiced fictional award speeches and thought my mother wouldn’t be able to see it. The day the nomination came, she was with me. It was the culmination of a dream,” he recalled.
That experience, he explained, is linked to the professional stage he is going through. He confessed that today he feels “inside a dream,” after having starred in a premiere with Warner Bros. and working with directors such as Ridley Scott and Guillermo del Toro.“I can only feel immense gratitude,” he said.
When reflecting on his present, Elordi linked his personal balance with the environment that surrounds him.“I grew up surrounded by authenticity; everything I was looking for is in my real life, not in a public pose,” he said.
That look also defines his relationship with popularity.Far from overestimating it, he said: “I don’t think much about it. What I have is enough and I consider myself lucky to be able to dedicate myself to my dream.”
