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 Guillermo revealed how long Jacob spent getting in character.
“He took around 10 hours every day,” Guillermo 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 Jacob 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,’” Guillermo added. “And the result is heartbreaking and beautiful. It’s a really naked performance—emotionally so close to innocence that it breaks your heart.”
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But makeup wasn’t the only way Jacob 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.
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“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.”
Oscar added, “The fact that he would just show up and was so beautiful and vulnerable and vulnerable and open, I was so impressed with him.”
Jacob—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 Guillermo previously gushed, Jacob 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.”
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And while Jacob 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 Cumberbatchthe 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–k do you mean?’”
When Jacob shared that he didn’t want to be “influenced” by the other films, Guillermo was quick to assure him that his performance would be his own.
“He says, ‘My friend, it’s a movie, it can’t f–king hurt you,’” Jacob recalled. “I went home, and I just binged them.”
Frankenstein hits select theaters Oct. 17 before being available on Netflix beginning Nov. 7.
For more stars with incredible onscreen transformations, keep reading.
Christian Bale, American Hustle & Vice
The British actor packed on more than 40 pounds for his Oscar-nominated performance as a beer-bellied con artist in 2013’s American Hustle. He put on the same amount to play former U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney in the 2018 movie Vicewhich also earned him an Oscar nomination.
For his 2019 movie Ford v FerrariBale dropped dropped 70 pounds to play slender race car driver Ken Miles. And it wasn’t his first time losing weight for a role, having also lost about 30 pounds while filming the 2011 film The Fighter.
Glenn Close, Hillbilly Elegy
To transform the actress into her role of real life Appalachian grandmother Mamaw Vance in the 2020 film, makeup and special effects artist Matthew Mungle pulled Close’s head cast from 2011’s Albert nobbs and sculpted her a new set of false ears and a false nose, according to Variety. The actress received an Oscar nomination for her role.
Sebastian tent, The Apprentice
For his role as Donald Trumpnot only did the actor work with the same hairstylist and makeup artists who transformed him into Tommy Lee for 2022’s Pam & Tommybut he also packed on the pounds to fill out the reality star-turned-president’s frame.
Stan said he gained around 15 pounds by eating instant ramen mixed with soy sauce—a dish recommended by his nutritionist to look bloated in the face—and drinking soda.
Second Day, The United States vs Billie Holiday
The actress lost almost 40 pounds to play the iconic jazz singer in the 2021 film, which earned her an Oscar nomination.
Cillian Murphy, Oppenheimer
Was eating, as his onscreen wife Emily Blunt joked “like, an almond every day,” a bit nutty? Sure. But the Irish star really wanted to nail atomic bomb scientist J. Robert Oppenheimer‘s appearance.
“Oppenheimer had a very distinct physicality and silhouette, which I wanted to get right,” he explained to The New York Times. “I had to lose quite a bit of weight, and we worked with the costume and tailoring; he was very slim, almost emaciated, existed on martinis and cigarettes.”
Charlize Theron, Monster
At the 2004 Academy Awards, the gorgeous A-lister was honored with a Best Actress win for her chilling portrayal of real-life serial killer Aileen Wuornos.
Joaquin Phoenix, The Joker
The actor lost 52 pounds to play the deeply disturbed Arthur Fleck, the man who would become Batman’s adversary. The won the Best Actor Oscar in 2020 for his performance.
Nicole Kidman, The Hours
It took three hours (and an infamously large prosthetic nose) for makeup artists to render the Best Actress winner completely unrecognizable for the 2002 drama.
Tom Hanks, Philadelphia
The actor shed 35 pounds and shaved his head to play an HIV-stricken attorney suing his former firm for wrongful termination. Hanks took home Best Actor at the 1994 Oscars, and made a similar transformation for his Oscar-nominated performance in 2000’s Cast Away.
Renee Zellwegger, Judy
The actress, who famously gained a reported 17 pounds to play the title role in Bridget Jones’s Diary, did not have to change her physique to transform into Judy Garland for the 2019 film Judyfor which she won her first Oscar. You can thank the makeup and costume department for her transformation.
“Renée was extremely emotionally and artistically involved in Judy, the movie’s costume designer, Jany Temmewho also worked on the Harry Potter films, told Vulture. “It was her film. I think she really got into Judy’s skin.”
Zellweger told the outlet, “Jany fit the costumes to Judy’s posture. So the dresses didn’t fit me unless I stood like I was supposed to stand. The zipper wouldn’t go up.”
Margot Robbie, I, Tonya
Quite a departure from Robbie’s sultry character in The Wolf of Wall Streetseveral prosthetics, braces and wigs helped the Best Actress nominee bring disgraced figure skater Tonya Harding‘s career-ending scandal to life in the 2017 flick.
Matthew McConaughey, Dallas Buyers Club
The Academy recognized McConaughey’s extreme commitment to playing an HIV/AIDS stricken electrician with a Best Actor win during the 2014 ceremony.
Heath Ledger in The Dark Knight
The late actor received a posthumous Oscar in 2008 for his chilling and mesmerizing performance as The Joker in the second film in Christopher Nolan‘s Batman trilogy. His look as the iconic villain differed greatly from those previously seen on past actors onscreen.
“What would it be if this guy slept in his makeup, this psychopath?” makeup artist John Caglione Jr. told IGN. “If he didn’t spruce up his makeup for two or three weeks? He never changes his clothes It’s those kinds of organic details that really helped.”
He continued, “You think of a clown’s makeup and for the most part, they’re pretty detailed with sharp lines. But this had to be the opposite of that.”
Hilary Swank, Boys Don’t Cry & Million Dollar Baby
The two-time Oscar winner dramatically altered her appearance to play real-life transgender man Brandon Teena in the 1999 drama, and then again in Clint Eastwood‘s 2004 Best Picture winner.
Gary Oldman, Darkest Hour
In order to play British prime minister Winston Churchillthe 2018 Best Actor nominee spent upwards of four hours in the makeup chair every day and wore a “Victorian corset” style bodysuit.
Natalie Portman, Black Swan
Before taking home Best Actress at the 2011 Oscars, the petite actress shed 20 pounds and trained up to 16 hours a day for her role as a mentally ill ballerina.
Jared Leto, Dallas Buyers Club
Ever the chameleon, the 2014 Best Supporting Actor winner prepared to play a HIV-positive transgender woman by losing 40 pounds and only staying in character on set.
“I had done similar things with weight, but this was different,” Leto told E! News in 2013. “I think the role demanded that commitment…It was about how does that effect how I walk, how I talked, who I am, how I feel. You know, you feel very fragile and delicate and unsafe.”
Brie Larson, Room
The Best Actress winner gained 15 pounds of muscle to play a mother who escapes years of captivity with her 5-year-old son (Jacob Tremblay) in the 2015 film. Larson said she even limited her exposure to the outside world, restricted nutrients like Vitamin D and tailored her eating habits to better grasp what her character experienced.
Rooney Mara, The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo
At the 2012 Academy Awards, the typically fresh-faced starlet was honored with a Best Actress nomination for her performance in the thriller. Mara went as far as to pierce multiple body parts, bleach her eyebrows and chop her hair to transform into Lisbeth Salander.
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