Taking on the role of The Creature in Guillermo del Toro’s re-telling of Mary Shelley’s classic novel Frankenstein was “incredibly life changing” says actor Jacob Elordi.
Directed and written by del Toro, the new adaptation sees ambitious and arrogant scientist Victor Frankenstein, played by Oscar Isaac, piecing a creature together from body parts and bringing to life an indestructible but gentle giant.
The Oscar-winning Mexican filmmaker depicts the creature as a towering, sensitive being who hungers for affection and knowledge.
Attending the movie’s London Film Festival premiere on Monday (October 13), Elordi said he would spend between five and 11 hours in the makeup chair ahead of scenes. The long preparation served as “meditation” that helped him settle into the character.
“The physicality was such a fundamental part of mapping his sort of growth from nothing into a fully conscious, understood human being,” the Australian actor, 28, said. “I spent a great deal of time on that and a lot of sleepless nights and trial and error and thinking, I suppose.”
Del Toro’s approach was an emotional, humane reimagining of the horror tale, said Isaac.
“Guillermo was more interested in the trauma that’s passed down from fathers to sons, from parents to kids, and how that trauma gets repeated over and over again until finally compassion and forgiveness can break that cycle,” he said.
Del Toro, known for blending fantasy and horror in films such as “The Shape of Water” and “Pan’s Labyrinth”, largely shunned computerised special effects and instead built lavish sets for his team of actors, which also included Christoph Waltz, Mia Goth and Felix Kammerer.
Frankenstein gets a limited theatrical release from October 17 and starts streaming on Netflix on November 7.
