Jacob Elordi
Jacob Elordi | |
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Born | Brisbane, Queensland, Australia | 26 June 1997
Occupation | Actor |
Years active | 2015–present |
Jacob Elordi (born 26 June 1997) is an Australian actor. He gained prominence through his roles as high school students Noah Flynn in The Kissing Booth film trilogy (2018–2021) on Netflix and Nate Jacobs in the HBO series Euphoria (2019–present). In 2023, Elordi portrayed Elvis Presley in the biographical film Priscilla and starred in the psychological drama Saltburn, which earned him a nomination for the BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role.
Early life and education
Jacob Elordi was born on 26 June 1997 in Brisbane, Queensland, to a working class family consisting of his parents—John, a house painter who spent 13 years building the family's house, and Melissa Elordi, a stay-at-home mother and one-time cafeteria employee at Jacob's school—and three older sisters. John emigrated to Australia from the Basque Country at age eight.
He attended the Roman Catholic secondary schools of St Kevin's College, Melbourne, and St Joseph's College, Nudgee, in Brisbane. While a player on his school's rugby team, Elordi performed in school musicals starting at age 12, starring in productions of Seussical and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and he soon began taking acting classes. He also played Oberon in a school production of A Midsummer Night's Dream. At age 14, Elordi started practicing his American accent, modelling it after that of Vin Diesel. In high school, he was inspired by actors such as Marlon Brando, Laurence Olivier, Daniel Day-Lewis, Christian Bale, and Heath Ledger and would read their biographies while emulating their behaviours. He has stated that he "barely finished high school".
Career
Elordi's first experience on a Hollywood film set was in Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales as an extra. His first acting role was on the Australian film Swinging Safari in 2018, playing the role of Rooster. Elordi came to fame starring as Noah Flynn, a "bad-boy jock" and the primary love interest of the Netflix romantic comedy film The Kissing Booth, which premiered in May 2018. He reprised the role in the sequels The Kissing Booth 2, which filmed in mid-2019 in Cape Town, South Africa, and was released in July 2020; and The Kissing Booth 3, which was released on Netflix in August 2021. Looking back at the films in 2023, he stated that he had not wanted to make them, calling them "ridiculous" and stating that he did them to "do whatever the fuck [he had] to do" to become an actor in the United States.
After filming was completed for The Kissing Booth, Elordi moved to Los Angeles. While occasionally sleeping in his car with little money left, Elordi auditioned for Sam Levinson's HBO drama series Euphoria, with plans for it to be his last audition before moving back home. He was then selected to play Nate Jacobs, a troubled high school football player, whom he portrayed from the show's pilot episode. Elordi described the character as "a narcissist" and "a sociopath", while Clay Skipper of British GQ described the character as an antihero. He also appeared in the horror anthology film The Mortuary Collection. Elordi then appeared as Charlie, a classical pianist and a love interest in Adrian Lyne's erotic psychological thriller Deep Water.
In 2023, Elordi was featured in Sean Price Williams' drama film The Sweet East, which premiered at the 76th Cannes Film Festival. Williams based Elordi's character in the film on Robert Pattinson following his role in The Twilight Saga. He next portrayed a controlling Elvis Presley in the Sofia Coppola–directed Priscilla Presley biopic Priscilla, which is based on Priscilla's memoir Elvis and Me. Coppola chose Elordi to play the role partially because of his "effect on women" during their first meeting, which she found comparable to Elvis's. Priscilla premiered at the 80th Venice International Film Festival, where it was met with positive reception. His performance in the film was often compared by critics to that of Austin Butler in Elvis (2022). Richard Lawson of Vanity Fair wrote that Elordi "carefully calibrates Elvis's appeal and his pill-addled, domineering presence, his exacting demands and storms of frightening anger [in] a more enlightening take on the man than the one seen in Elvis".
In his final release of 2023, Elordi starred in Emerald Fennell's psychological drama Saltburn. His performance earned him a nomination for the BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role. In 2024, Elordi hosted an episode of Saturday Night Live.
Elordi will star in Oh, Canada, an upcoming film directed by Paul Schrader, in which he will play a younger version of Richard Gere's character in the film. Elordi is also committed to play the lead in a miniseries adaptation of the novel The Narrow Road to the Deep North and to play Frankenstein's monster in the Netflix film Frankenstein, which will be directed by Guillermo del Toro.
Other ventures
In March 2023, Elordi became a global brand ambassador for Swiss watch company TAG Heuer.
Public image
Starting with his roles in The Kissing Booth films and continuing into the 2020s, Elordi became known as a heartthrob for Generation Z in the media. Gabriella Paiella of GQ wrote that Elordi had "classic, undeniable leading man looks", while Larisha Paul of Rolling Stone called him "Hollywood's reigning heartthrob of the 2020s". Esther Zuckerman wrote of Elordi in The Atlantic, "If you know two things about the Saltburn and Priscilla star Jacob Elordi, you're probably aware that he's very tall... and very handsome in a classical way."
Elordi’s relationships, including with Euphoria costar Zendaya, model Kaia Gerber, and YouTuber Olivia Jade, also received widespread coverage in tabloids.
Filmography
Film
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
2018 | The Kissing Booth | Noah Flynn | |
Swinging Safari | Rooster | ||
2019 | The Mortuary Collection | Jake | |
2020 | The Kissing Booth 2 | Noah Flynn | |
2 Hearts | Chris | ||
The Very Excellent Mr. Dundee | Chase Hogan | ||
2021 | The Kissing Booth 3 | Noah Flynn | |
2022 | Deep Water | Charlie De Lisle | |
2023 | The Sweet East | Ian | |
He Went That Way | Bobby Falls | Also executive producer | |
Saltburn | Felix Catton | ||
Priscilla | Elvis Presley | ||
TBA | On Swift Horses † | Julius | Post-production |
Oh, Canada † | Leonard Fife | Post-production |
Television
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
2019 | The Bend | Lucas Jackson | |
2019–present | Euphoria | Nate Jacobs | Main role |
2024 | Saturday Night Live | Himself (host) | Episode: "Jacob Elordi / Reneé Rapp" |
TBA | The Narrow Road to the Deep North | Dorrigo Evans | Miniseries; filming |
Accolades
Award | Year | Category | Work | Result | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
AACTA Awards | 2022 | Audience Choice Award for Best Actor | Euphoria | Nominated | |
2024 | Best Supporting Actor | Saltburn | Pending | ||
BAFTA Film Awards | 2024 | Best Supporting Actor | Saltburn | Pending | |
Rising Star Award | — | Pending | |||
People's Choice Awards | 2024 | Drama Movie Star | Priscilla | Pending | |
Movie Performance | Saltburn | Pending |
- 1997 births
- 21st-century Australian male actors
- Australian male film actors
- Australian male television actors
- Australian people of Basque descent
- Australian people of Spanish descent
- Living people
- Male actors from Brisbane
- People educated at St Joseph's College, Nudgee
- People educated at St Kevin's College, Melbourne