Five Jacob Elordi TV and movie roles that put him on the map
Jacob Elordi. (Alberto Rodriguez/Variety via Getty Images)
After *that* bathroom scene in Saltburn, everyone’s talking about stars Barry Keoghan and Jacob Elordi. But where did the actors get their starts?
From a BAFTA nomination to hosting SNL, 26-year-old Australian actor Elordi is everywhere at the moment, but die-hard fans will know him first and foremost from Netflix, with the Kissing Booth franchise among his first acting credits.
Since the first Kissing Booth movie came out in 2018, Elordi now has 14 film roles to his name, while also rocketing to fame as Nate Jacobs in Euphoria.
But where have you seen him before? Below are the five TV and film roles that earned Jacob Elordi his star power.
The Kissing Booth
Elordi first caught Hollywood’s eye when he was cast in the Netflix teen rom-com trilogy The Kissing Booth, starring as bad boy high school senior Noah.
Also starring Joey King as Elle, the movies see Noah cause a rift between his brother Lee (Joel Courtney) and his best friend Elle after he and Elle start seeing each other. Predictably, tears, drama and romance ensues.
But it turns out, Elordi wasn’t so keen on starring in the series, explaining that he had never wanted to make the movies, and that he had just needed a job.
“I didn’t want to make those movies before I made those movies,” he told GQ in an interview. “Those movies are ridiculous. They’re not universal. They’re an escape.”
Priscilla
Hitting screens in January, Jacob Elordi’s fame skyrocketed after appearing as Elvis Presley himself in Sophia Coppola’s Priscilla.
Based on the 1985 memoir Elvis and Me by Priscilla Presley – who served as an executive producer of the film – and Sandra Harmon, the film follows the 14-year-long romantic relationship between Priscilla and Elvis.
Speaking about portraying The King so soon after Austin Butler in Elvis, Elordi told GQ: “It certainly crossed my mind briefly before I’d read the script. I don’t want to tell the same story over, especially because he did such a fine job of portraying this man.
“It’s a completely different thing. And it’s terribly exciting, too, running into the fire a little bit. I can’t think of anything more exhilarating.”
Euphoria
Jacob Elordi has played high school football player Nate Jacobs in Euphoria since 2018, with series three of HBO’s teen drama reportedly set for release in 2025.
While the show’s second series was delayed by Covid-19, and series three is likely to be delayed due to the writers’ and actors’ strikes in 2023, Elordi has confirmed that he will still be starring as Nate when the show resumes filming.
On the The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, Elordi explained that filming will have to happen “soon” or “they’ll have to Benjamin Button me or something”.
“I’m going to have a bad back … walking down the hallway,” the actor joked.
Saltburn
The Jacob Elordi role that’s got everyone talking is, of course, his performance in Emerald Fennell’s provocative queer thriller Saltburn.
The film stars Elordi as aristocrat Felix Catton, who lures Oxford scholarship student Oliver Quick (Barry Keoghan) into his dangerously erotic world, featuring several sexual scenes between Elordi and Keoghan.
During one particularly gossiped-about scene, Oliver is seen watching Felix masturbating in a bathtub. As the scene reaches its climax, Oliver then licks up Felix’s semen from around the tub drain, a moment which Elordi said made him feel “very proud”.
Described in equal parts as “hilarious” and “gloriously twisted”, Saltburn is one Elordi film fans absolutely should not miss.
He Went That Way
In crime drama He Went That Way, based on real-life serial killer Larry Lee Ranes, Jacob Elordi stars as Bobby Falls. This was also the first film in which Elordi worked as an executive producer.
Based on a horrifying true story from 1964, He Went That Way explores the account of an animal trainer who, with his pet chimpanzee, picks up a hitchhiker who turns out to be a serial killer.
“Someone has said that every human being is capable of murder,” Elordi said in an interview about playing the serial killer.
“I like to think of that a lot when I’m acting. It’s always there, it’s in your bones, every single piece of grief or loss or happiness or sadness you feel in your life is there. It’s just figuring out how to get to it.”
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