Originally appeared on E! Online
For his new movie, Jacob Elordi was brought to life with a lot of help from prosthetics.
Playing the Creature in Guillermo del Toro’s upcoming adaptation of “Frankenstein” was no easy task — especially as del Toro revealed how long Elordi spent getting in character.
“He took around 10 hours every day,” del Toro exclusively told E! News’ Francesca Amiker at the Oct. 6 Los Angeles premiere of the film, “and about 42 pieces of makeup, prosthetics. And then he would have to work.”
The Oscar winner was incredibly impressed by how Elordi handled everything, saying, “He did it all with grace and patience and love.”
“I told him, ‘Look, it’s like when a priest is getting dressed, there are many layers to the robes and the ceremonial guard. You have to think, this is your Ceremonial Guard. You’re invoking the Creature,’” del Toro added. “And the result is heartbreaking and beautiful. It’s a really naked performance — emotionally so close to innocence that it breaks your heart.”
READ Olivia Jade and Jacob Elordi Seemingly Dating Again, Reunite at His Frankenstein Premiere
But makeup wasn’t the only way Elordi transformed into “Frankenstein’s” creation. He also took Japanese butoh dance classes and dove into the Book of Job from the Bible.
The 28-year-old’s commitment to the part didn’t go unnoticed by costar Oscar Isaac, who plays the titular Dr. Victor Frankenstein.
“He’s so put together,” the 46-year-old shared with E!. “He was so effortless. He never complained. He was in 10 hours of makeup every day.”
Isaac added, “The fact that he would just show up and was so beautiful and vulnerable and open, I was so impressed with him.”
Elordi — who also stars alongside Mia Goth, Charles Dance and Christoph Waltz — took over the role of Frankenstein’s Creature after Andrew Garfield dropped out due to scheduling conflicts, and as del Toro previously gushed, Elordi was the “perfect actor” for the Creature.
“We have a supernaturally good connection,” the director told Vanity Fair in July. “It’s like, very few words. Very few things I have to say, and he does it.”
And while Elordi is the latest in a long line of stars to play Frankenstein’s monster, joining the likes of Boris Karloff, Robert De Niro and Benedict Cumberbatch, the “Euphoria” star originally wasn’t sure if he should revisit those performances for inspiration before filming began.
“At first I thought, ‘I’ll stay away from this. I want to do my own thing,'” he confessed. “And then I asked Guillermo, ‘Should I watch the other Frankensteins?’ And he goes, ‘What the f— do you mean?’”
When Elordi shared that he didn’t want to be “influenced” by the other films, del Toro was quick to assure him that his performance would be his own.
“He says, ‘My friend, it’s a movie, it can’t f—– hurt you,’” Elordi recalled. “I went home, and I just binged them.”
“Frankenstein” hits select theaters Oct. 17 before being available on Netflix beginning Nov. 7.
PHOTOSOscar Makeunders, Charlize Theron, Monster
