Jacob Elordi rose to fame after appearing in Netflix's The Kissing Booth in 2018. A year later, he began portraying Nate Jacobs in Sam Levinson's Euphoria. In an interview with GQ, the Australian actor, who was also a member of his school's rugby team, detailed the assumptions he faced for pursuing acting at a young age, telling the publication:
“From the moment I did a play I was called gay at school. But I had this abundance of confidence in myself. Because I could do both: I was quite good at sport and I think I was quite good at theater. I felt like I was above it, or it made me feel older. It made me feel wiser. I never was worried that my peers would think that I was less than a man. And also, there’s the classic thing of I was doing plays with girl schools. I’m spending my weekends with the most beautiful women from the school next door, reading the most romantic words ever written.”
While other young boys may have felt embarrassed to pursue their interests after having others question their sexuality, Elordi praised his confidence for allowing him to continue forward with acting. Aside from his own confidence, Elordi's interests made his parents proud-- his father through rugby and his mother through acting.
The actor also recalled being cast as Oberon, the King of the Fairies, in Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, stating that he started wearing purple glitter on his face and pink spiked hair.
“When they said I was gay, I remember leaning into the makeup. I was like, if I’m going to be the King of the Fairies, I’m going to be the f---ing hottest King of the Fairies you’ve ever seen. I started welcoming those kinds of characters. I started welcoming the femininity. I started speaking with my hands. I started really playing the thespian.”
Elordi states that he felt confused by the assumption of ties between different skills and sexual preference, asking how sexuality could correlate to "your prowess as an athlete, or your prowess as a performer?”
Elordi's Career
Elordi appeared in Netflix's rom-com trilogy The Kissing Booth, as Noah Flynn, beginning in 2018. While the films were not well-received by critics, they became popular among younger audiences, launching Elordi into stardom.
In 2019, he starred in the horror film The Mortuary Collection. The same year, he appeared in the first season of HBO's Euphoria as Nate Jacobs, portraying the polar opposite of his The Kissing Booth character. As Nate, Elordi played an outwardly confident high school athlete whose inner insecurities revolved around his sexuality. While both seasons of the show have been met with their share of criticism over drug use and sexualization, Euphoria's young cast has received praise for their portrayals. Elordi is expected to return for the third season of Euphoria.
Elordi is next set to appear in Saltburn, opposite Rosamund Pike, and in Jeffrey Darling's He Went That Way.