Ten Inches Too Tall
New York magazine|February 12-25, 2024
Jacob Elordi is breaking Hollywood's height barrier.
Lane Brown
Ten Inches Too Tall

IN JUNE 2022, Sofia Coppola placed a worried call to her cinematographer, Philippe Le Sourd. They were preparing to shoot her new biopic of Priscilla Presley, and the director was close to casting the all-important role of Elvis. "She didn't tell me who she had in mind," says Le Sourd, "but she asked if it would be a problem to shoot with a tall actor." You can understand her concern: Cailee Spaeny, the actress who was slated to play Priscilla, is just five-foot-one. The actor in question was Jacob Elordi, the 26-year-old Australian heartthrob, who is classically handsome with a whiff of Elvis's charisma and is six-footfive. In Hollywood, that is not just tall but towering, unapologetically altitudinous in a way that few leading men have ever dared to be. Could the cinematographer cram such differently sized humans into the same frame? Le Sourd took a can-do approach. "I told Sofia, "There's always a technical solution, and we'll make it look as good as possible," he says. "But I'm sure that for some directors, the height difference could've been too much." In most walks of life, height like Elordi's is an advantage.

Tall people, especially men, make more money, get more matches on dating apps, and win more presidential elections. They can also run faster, see better at concerts, and buy booze for high-school parties without wearing a trench coat and standing on a friend's shoulders. One of the vanishingly few places on earth where height does not automatically confer benefits is a movie set, where logistics seem to favor smaller performers. Diminutive actors-like Tom Cruise and Tom Holland (both about five-foot-seven) or Robert Downey Jr. and Joaquin Phoenix (both five-foot-eight)-can pair more easily with most co-stars and play younger characters for longer, thus expanding their career options.

This story is from the February 12-25, 2024 edition of New York magazine.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.

This story is from the February 12-25, 2024 edition of New York magazine.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.

MORE STORIES FROM NEW YORK MAGAZINEView All
Drowning in Slop - A thriving underground economy is clogging the internet with AI garbage-and it's only going to get worse.
New York magazine

Drowning in Slop - A thriving underground economy is clogging the internet with AI garbage-and it's only going to get worse.

SLOP started seeping into Neil Clarke's life in late 2022. Something strange was happening at Clarkesworld, the magazine. Clarke had founded in 2006 and built into a pillar of the world of speculative fiction. Submissions were increasing rapidly, but “there was something off about them,” he told me recently. He summarized a typical example: “Usually, it begins with the phrase ‘In the year 2250-something’ and then it goes on to say the Earth’s environment is in collapse and there are only three scientists who can save us. Then it describes them in great detail, each one with its own paragraph. And then—they’ve solved it! You know, it skips a major plot element, and the final scene is a celebration out of the ending of Star Wars.” Clarke said he had received “dozens of this story in various incarnations.”

time-read
10+ mins  |
September 23 - October 6, 2024
The City Politic- The Other Eric Adams Scandal The NYPD shot a fare evader, a cop, and two bystanders. He defends it.
New York magazine

The City Politic- The Other Eric Adams Scandal The NYPD shot a fare evader, a cop, and two bystanders. He defends it.

On Sunday, September 15, Derell Mickles hopped a turnstile, got asked to leave by cops, then entered the subway again ten minutes later through an emergency exit. This was at the Sutter Avenue L station, out by his mother's house, five stops from the end of the line. Police said they noticed he was holding a folded knife. They followed him up the stairs to the elevated train, asking him 38 times to drop the weapon.

time-read
5 mins  |
September 23 - October 6, 2024
Can the Media Survive?
New York magazine

Can the Media Survive?

BIG TECH, Feckless Owners, CORD-CUTTERS, RESTIVE STAFF, Smaller Audiences ... and the Return of PRINT?

time-read
5 mins  |
October 21 - November 03, 2024
Status Update
New York magazine

Status Update

Hannah Gadsby's fascinatingly untidy tour through life after fame and death.

time-read
5 mins  |
October 21 - November 03, 2024
A Matter of Perspective
New York magazine

A Matter of Perspective

A Matter of Perspective Steve McQueen's worst film is still a solid WWII drama.

time-read
3 mins  |
October 21 - November 03, 2024
Creator, Destroyer
New York magazine

Creator, Destroyer

A retrospective reveals an architect's vision, optimism, and supreme arrogance.

time-read
5 mins  |
October 21 - November 03, 2024
In Praise of Bad Readers
New York magazine

In Praise of Bad Readers

In a time of war, there is a danger in surveying the world as if it were a novel.

time-read
10+ mins  |
October 21 - November 03, 2024
Trust the Kieran Culkin Process
New York magazine

Trust the Kieran Culkin Process

First, he nearly dropped out of Oscar hopeful A Real Pain. Then he convinced Jesse Eisenberg to change the way he directs.

time-read
8 mins  |
October 21 - November 03, 2024
The Funniest Vampires on TV
New York magazine

The Funniest Vampires on TV

What We Do in the Shadows is coming to an end. Its idiosyncratic brand of comedy may be too.

time-read
5 mins  |
October 21 - November 03, 2024
The Water-Tower Penthouse
New York magazine

The Water-Tower Penthouse

Gigi Loizzo and Angel Molina's apartment on the Grand Concourse in the Bronx looks out on Yankee Stadium.

time-read
2 mins  |
October 21 - November 03, 2024