Actor Jacob Elordi, who has been part of several critically acclaimed films including The Kissing Booth and its sequel, Priscilla and Saltburn, has been receiving rave reviews for his performance as The creature in Guillermo del Toro's Frankenstein. Currently one among the most sought-after actors in Hollywood, Elordi has now revealed who inspired him to pursue a career in acting.
Speaking to Variety, he said, "I was quite loud as a kid, which is every actors’ thing. They didn’t know what to do with me. There was a teacher at school, Mrs. McMahon, who decided to cast me as the cat in The Cat in the Hat musical. As soon as I was singing and dancing with the big hat on, I knew that that was what I wanted to do."
Further, he also spoke about how late actor Heath Ledger inspired him to take the final push towards becoming an actor. "I saw Heath Ledger in The Dark Knight when I was about 12. I realised he was from Australia and then the cog started turning that this could be a viable thing for me to do," he shared.
Preparing for his role in Frankenstein was no easy feat. He had earlier confessed that he experienced "moments of great anguish" amid shooting the film, reports Female First.
The film took a toll on him as he had to shed significant amount of weight in a short period of time. "My brain was kind of all over the place. 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. And I just realised that it was a blessing with Frankenstein coming up, because I could articulate these feelings, this suffering," he shared with the Los Angeles Times newspaper, noting that he felt that he was destined to essay the role of Frankenstein's monster.
"It came from some other place. It felt like a growth, like a cancer in my stomach that told me that I had to play this thing. I’ve heard stories about this from actors, and when you hear them, you kind of go, ‘Sure, you were meant to play this thing.’ But I really feel like I was," he added.
Currently streaming on Netflix, Frankenstein stars Oscar Isaac as Victor Frankenstein. Mia Goth and Christoph Waltz play supporting roles. It is based on the 1818 novel by Mary Shelley.
