Jacob Elordi calls iconic role an ‘emotional training ground’ on set
Jacob Elordi praises brutal Frankenstein transformation as his secret weapon
Jacob Elordi has revealed that spending up to 10 hours a day in the make-up chair while filming Frankenstein turned out to be “the greatest blessing” of his career.
The 28-year-old actor takes on the role of the Creature opposite Oscar Isaac’s Victor Frankenstein in Guillermo del Toro’s highly anticipated adaptation of the classic horror tale.
And while the gruelling prosthetics process might sound exhausting, Jacob says it became an unexpected gift.
Speaking at The Hollywood Reporter’s Actors Roundtable, the Saltburn star explained that the long hours allowed him to fully disappear into the role.
“It gave me the freedom to be completely expressive,” he said, admitting he could attempt things he’d “never get away with in a regular film”.
According to Jacob, director Guillermo del Toro described the make-up process as something almost spiritual.
When the Creature first appears on screen, the transformation took a staggering 10 hours from head to toe, dropping to five hours once costumes were added.
The Kissing Booth star joked that having that much time to prepare every day would be a blessing for anyone, giving him space to learn the script inside out and then stop thinking about it entirely.
However, the experience wasn’t without its pressure.
Euphoria actor revealed he was thrown in at the deep end when Guillermo decided to shoot the film’s emotional climax far earlier than expected before he’d even fully figured out the Creature’s voice.
“I didn’t have time to freak out,” he said. “So I just did it.”
In hindsight, Jacob believes that lack of overthinking helped deliver a more honest performance.