Jacob Elordi

The Australian actor who plays the creature in the new Frankenstein, and Heathcliff in Emerald Fennell’s Wuthering Heights, has a knack for picking roles that show off his talent, writes Barbara Ellen

- Barbara Ellen

he late influential film critic, Pauline Kael said: “An artist must either give up art or develop”. She could be speaking of Australian actor Jacob Elordi.

At 6ft Sin with classic movie star looks, Elordi, 28, is increasingly the gen Z leading man du jour. Yet he’s also forging a reputation for creative resolve — a determination to prove he’s not just another Hollywood pretty boy. He wants more.

Elordi recently won the Critics Circle Award for Best Supporting ‘Actor for playing the creature in Frankenstein, Guillermo Del Toro’s bold £120m Netflix adaptation of Mary Shelley's 1818 novel. His rank outsider win — in a category including Sean Penn (One Battle After Another) and Paul Mescal (Hamnet) — could signal an Oscar nomination in the announcements next week.

Elordi also received two Golden Globe nominations: the first for Frankenstein; the second for Best Actor for the limited television series, The Narrow Road To The Deep North. The Globes went to Stellan Skarsgard (Sentimental Value) and Stephen Graham (Adolescence). Owen Cooper, from Adolescence, is playing the younger version of Elordi’s Heathcliff opposite Margot Robbie in Emerald Fennell’s adaptation of Wuthering Heights.

Elordi is also reported to be one of the favourites of Dune director Denis Villeneuve to become the new James Bond. He's also set to star in Ridley Scott’s post-apocalyptic sci-fi movie, The Dog Stars.

‘The actor's previous appearances include Fennell’s Saltburn, Sofia Coppola's Priscilla, and Oh, Canada, written and directed by Paul Schrader (Taxi Driver, Raging Bull). Seemingly averse to superhero franchises, Elordi refused to audition for James Gunn's Superman.

“The interesting thing about Jacob Elordi is that he’s a character actor ina leading man’s body?’ observes Henry Wong, senior culture writer at Esquire magazine. “He makes these fascinating choices”