Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images for BFI
Actor Jacob Elordi has shared insights into his personal experience during the filming of his upcoming role as Frankenstein in Guillermo del Toro’s latest cinematic endeavor. In a revealing discussion, Elordi articulated how his prior struggles informed his approach to the character, leading him to perceive his difficult experiences as a profound opportunity rather than mere hardship.
During an in-depth conversation with Los Angeles Times, Elordi recounted the intense physical and mental demands he faced while preparing for his role. He detailed a significant weight loss while filming *The Narrow Road to the Deep North*, a World War II miniseries, which laid the groundwork for his preparation to embody the iconic creature.
“My brain was kind of all over the place,” Elordi noted. “I had these moments of great anguish at around 3 a.m. in the morning. I’d wake and my body was in such pain.” However, he soon came to realize that the challenges he faced were instrumental in shaping his portrayal of Frankenstein. “I just realized that it was a blessing with Frankenstein coming up, because I could articulate these feelings, this suffering,” he explained.
Elordi mentioned that the film arrived during a pivotal moment in his career, as he grappled with his identity and purpose as an actor. “At that time in my life, I really wanted to hide. I was desperate to find some kind of normalcy and rebuild the way that I acted and how I approached making movies. And when the film came along, I remember being like, ‘Ugh, I really wanted to go away right now.’ And I realized immediately the Creature was where I was supposed to go away to. I was supposed to go into that mask of freedom.”
The rigorous daily make-up required to transform him into Frankenstein didn’t hinder his experience; in fact, he found it liberating. “I didn’t have to be this version of myself anymore,” Elordi stated. “In those six months, I completely rebuilt myself. And I came out of this film with a whole new skin.”
*Frankenstein*, which boasts an ensemble cast including Oscar Isaac, Mia Goth, and Christoph Waltz, is set to premiere in select theaters on Friday and will be available on Netflix beginning November 7. The film is inspired by Mary Shelley’s 1818 novel, *Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus*.
David Rooney, chief film critic for The Hollywood Reporter, remarked in his review, “The genre-defying craftsman’s sumptuous retelling of *Frankenstein* honors the essence of the book in that it’s not so much straight-up horror as tragedy, romance and a philosophical reflection on what it means to be human. One of del Toro’s finest, this is epic-scale storytelling of uncommon beauty, feeling, and artistry.”
Based on reporting by Hollywood Reporter. Read the full story at Hollywood Reporter.
