Patience Pays Off for Jacob Elordi as Netflix's 'Frankenstein' Wows Audiences and Critics Alike

Australian actor Jacob Elordi showed tonnes of patience in his portrayal of the 'Creature' in Netflix's Frankenstein and it has paid off so far.

Early and recent reviews for director Guillermo del Toro's latest film, which released on the streaming giant yesterday, hurl praises at Elordi's performance.

Elordi had to endure long sessions in the makeup chair to complete his transformation in what he previously called the 'biggest film' of his young career.

Prosthetic and Costume Process

Prosthetic makeup effects department head Mike Hill and costume designer Kate Hawley discussed how they brought del Toro's vision of the 'Creature' to life in an interview with Elle.

Hill said del Toro wanted to avoid his Frankenstein's monster to look identical as their favorite 1931 adaptation of the novel, so he referred to 19th century textbooks and a phrenology head for inspiration.

'When you saw him, you immediately knew that he was man-made. He'd been tailored, he'd been designed,' Hill shared.

Hawley followed Hill's design and the film's setting to weave Elordi's costume.

'I look at the environment and the world they're building and what Mike was doing, and then I work from the inside out,' she said. 'I reflect those elements through the costume.'

Hill also revealed the conversation he had with the actor on Zoom, warning him of the grueling transformation process, and how he and Elordi became friends because of it.

'I said, "Look, Jacob, you're going to hate my face at 2 a.m. when I'm leaning over you, and I'm going to hate yours because you're hating mine,"' he recalled.

He also praised Elordi's patience, declaring that he's 'never known a better subject' in the years he's been in the business.

'I'll remember this forever'

The Kissing Booth actor told Netflix that doing Frankenstein with the Oscar-winning director changed his outlook on filmmaking.

'It completely reignited my passion for movies ... I have a whole different energy toward making films now,' said Elordi, who had to have 42 separate pieces of prosthetics applied on his body to shoot the film.

'Guillermo said this would be not just a meditation, but a metamorphosis,' he added.

Elordi was casted nine weeks before production began, as Spider-Man star Andrew Garfield had to back out due to a scheduling conflict. The Mexican director would later find out that the late change was a great decision.

'The way Jacob plays him like a baby in the beginning is just wonderful, and then the way he moves like a man is so moving, and it's all Jacob,' said del Toro.

Giving Elordi His Flowers

Positive response towards Elordi's performance kept on coming; from the film's limited theatrical run all the way to its streaming premiere.

Tom Shone of Sunday Times UK wrote on Rotten Tomatoes: 'Once Jacob Elordi takes the stage as the monster — sorry, the creature — everything falls into place.'

WBUR Arts & Culture's Sean Burns said that his portrayal was better than Oscar Isaac's Victor Frankenstein, noting 'the movie doesn't come alive until he does' later in the 150-minute feature.

El Pais' Elsa Fernández-Santos said: 'Elordi's performance, the sadness and loneliness he conveys, is the heart of a film that grows in its second act, when the creature finally speaks.'

Guillermo del Toro's Frankenstein is now streaming on Netflix and also stars Oscar Isaac and Mia Goth.