Rising Hollywood star, Jacob Elordi, has been skyrocketing in popularity ever since starring in the Kissing Booth back in 2018. Since then, his career has evolved into taking more complicated and toxic roles that have only made his fame surge even further.
Undertaking roles such as Nate Jacobs in Euphoria, Elvis Presley in Priscilla and most recently Felix Catton in Saltburn, Elordi has developed a taste for acting in more mature films. His roles have portrayed abuse both physically and mentally, as well as taking on traits that are manipulative and controlling.
In the hit TV show Euphoria, Elordi tackled arguably one of his more toxic roles. He portrayed a popular high school football player obsessed with fitness, with a father who is the opposite of a good role model. He is seen as an antagonist due to how he manipulated his ex-girlfriend Maddy, as well as blackmailed and catfished Jules. Regardless of the behavior of his character, Elordi had his audience wrapped around his finger and became a fan-favorite to watch. This is primarily due to his appearances; many people often overlook the personalities of the characters themselves.
“I prefer watching Jacob Elordi play in destructive roles because he does a good job expressing those types of emotions. I’d say my favorite role of his was in Priscilla. Looking at his role itself, his performance was nice to watch. Even with that being said, I don’t think people should condone actions of his toxic characters just because he looks good,” said sophomore Sam Springer.
His newest role in Saltburn has earned a tremendous amount of traction on social media platforms such as TikTok. Mainly teens and young adults are glorifying his looks and acting by creating content about Elordi. Although the actor had a huge fan base before his role in Saltburn, it has surged recently due to this movie in particular.
Despite the fact that a large population of people love watching Elordi play in more explicit movies, some would prefer him to play more laid back and warm characters. Not everyone finds enjoyment in watching darker films and some just prefer to have a balance. Equally important to mention, a younger audience consisting of tweens shouldn’t really be exposed to everything some of his shows have to offer. Influence from social networks tends to get children into these types of movies much sooner than they should be, therefore it isn’t necessarily a good fit for them to be watching his films.
“I enjoy watching Jacob Elordi in shows, it is interesting to see him perform as different characters and act them out so perfectly. Seeing him continue growing in acting will be fun and I hope that he will branch out and try different movie genres and lighter characters,” stated sophomore Amanda Robins.
Junior Madison Reed stated, “I feel like Jacob Elordi should’ve stayed in movies and shows similar to Kissing Booth because many roles he plays now are more controversial. At the same time, he had impressive acting skills when taking on roles like Nate Jacobs and Felix Catton. Moving forward I would like to see him continue developing his career in more mature shows, but I also understand how people would prefer otherwise.”
At 26 years old, with his fame only continuing to increase, Elordi is definitely a figure to watch in Hollywood. Young adults have developed an obsession with watching anything he is in, and there is certainly a lot in store for the future, including season 3 of Euphoria and Frankenstein. It is evident that the near future holds shows sharing similar themes to his current productions, however, further down the road, it is unclear what we will see from the celebrity.