The Untold Truth Of Jacob Elordi

One of the fastest rising stars of his generation, Jacob Elordi first won over audiences with his role as a dreamboat in "The Kissing Booth." Then, after excelling in the teen TV drama "Euphoria," Elordi rolled into the 2020s, and the actor exploded even more in popularity. Much more than just charming looks, Elordi excelled in a wide range of genres, from romantic comedies to thrillers. For his oeuvre, Elordi received two nominations for the 2024 BAFTA awards as a supporting actor for his role in the movie "Saltburn" and the EE Rising Star award. Famous director Sofia Coppola chose Elordi to portray Elvis Presley in her biopic "Priscilla" because she, too, could instantly recognize his appeal. After first meeting the actor in a restaurant, "There were some girls there and you could just feel them all turn to him. I mean, he's striking — so tall. But he just has a charisma, he has an effect on women that I imagine was similar to Elvis," Coppola told GQ.

Still, Elordi wants to be known as much more than a heartthrob and knows he has much to prove. "I don't think anyone – unless you're a complete psychopath – walks around thinking that you're some kind of something," he told Wonderland. From on-set injuries to achieving sudden success, Elordi has dealt with several obstacles since becoming a big-time actor. Fortunately, he rolls with whatever is thrown his way and continues to delight audiences. This is the untold truth of Jacob Elordi.

Jacob Elordi was born in Brisbane, Australia, and started from humble beginnings with his father, a house painter, and his mom, who was a cafeteria worker. Elordi has a brother but admittedly, he is a mama's boy and says he was greatly influenced by her and his three sisters. "I think it was all of us dressing up," he told W Magazine about some of the earliest memories with his siblings. "My mom has videos of me with this great ginger curly wig, with red lipstick on, and my sister's purse. I don't remember ever resenting it," he added about hanging with his sisters. After becoming a famous actor, Elordi had a chance to work with his one sister, Isabella, who photographed him for a feature in Man About Town Magazine. In his opinion, Isabella is a perfect person, and he called her "the most dedicated person to a craft that I've ever met in my entire life," Elordi told Esquire.

Elordi also can thank his dad for empowering his young boy and carrying that confidence into adulthood. As a kid, Elordi's dad gave him the nickname Jacob the Champion because "I would never stop anything, whether it be running or riding a bike up a hill," he explained to Esquire. "To this day, I will never, ever stop. Even if I'm in the gym or something silly like that, I can still hear 'Jacob the Champion,'" he revealed.

Thanks to a former teacher with encouraging words, Jacob Elordi decided to try out to be an actor at his school. Around the age of 12, Elordi began performing in musical theater, participating in shows like "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" and playing the part of the Cat in the Hat in his high school's production of "Seussical." Still, Elordi felt he could learn even more about acting. "From there I took drama classes. And then from about 15, there was not much else for me to do," he told W Magazine. Elordi went to an acting school in Melbourne and started auditioning for popular Australian soap operas like "Home and Away" with little success. "I dunno, I wasn't very good. I was pretty bad," he explained to Men's Health. Luckily for future fans, Elordi stuck with his dreams and moved to America to pursue an acting career.

While his biggest roles in Hollywood came in movies and TV, Elordi still has a special place in his heart for performing on a stage. "My goal always has been to be in the theater, so I think that's something that my effort and time is spent on," he explained to Man of Many. The actor added about being forever a thespian, "I don't know what it is, but I started acting in the theater when I was little, and I'd love to get back there, no matter what it is."

Jacob Elordi is definitely an expert at playing high school students, given his experiences in "The Kissing Booth" films and his "Euphoria" TV role. Yet, for what his life was really like in high school, Elordi explained how his education in Australia was much different from the fictional characters he played on screen. "They feel kind of communist here or something. There's barbed-wire fences and, like, lockers," Elordi told Men's Health about his impressions of American high schools. According to the actor, Australian high schools feel "much more like a community." Still, it wasn't all positive experiences for Elordi in his teenage years. While living in Australia, he went to a Catholic all-boys school in Melbourne. Since it was also a private school, Elordi recalled many of his classmates were from wealthy families and he couldn't relate with them. Plus, he wasn't a fan of the learning environment in general. "I don't think that the structure of that school did anything for building young men at all," Elordi explained.

Around this age, Elordi decided to give modeling a try. It turned out that even as a teen, he often was too tall to fit into the clothes provided to models. Looking back, Elordi said he was glad to give up modeling because "I truly think I would've been miserable if I had to do that." Instead, he recalled often wearing tracksuits and sneakers on his own in the style of chav culture.

Although Jacob Elordi clearly fits the requirements of being tall and handsome, according to the actor, his height has sometimes felt as a hindrance to his career and self-confidence. "I used to be so sensitive about my height because when I first started acting, literally everybody would tell me that I'd never work because they wouldn't be able to like, partner me with people and they wouldn't lift the camera up," he explained to GQ. "So, I basically got told that I was too tall to be an actor," Elordi added, and as a result, "I was super nervous about telling people my height." The actor would sometimes lie and claim to be a few inches shorter than his actual height, which is a towering 6 feet, 5 inches.

Fortunately, Elordi is able to take on roles even if his height difference is significant compared to his costars — he just uses a few tricks to help while the camera is rolling. For example, some of his shortest costars will stand on a box next to Elordi, so they stay in the same frame. Other times, Elordi will get down into a split to be closer to the other actors. One of the biggest differences in height is between Elordi and his on-screen wife in "Priscilla," Cailee Spaeny, who stands at 5 feet, 1 inch tall. "I'm excellent at finding ways to lean. It's a skill I've perfected throughout my career. I'm always leaning," he joked to W Magazine.

With an especially strong American accent in his role as a high school student in "Euphoria" or as Elvis in "Priscilla," some fans might be surprised to learn Jacob Elordi is Australian. This is in part to vocally imitating Americans, which Elordi started around the age of 14. "I think I just wanted to be able to mimic the people that I thought were cool," like actor Vin Diesel, he told GQ. Elordi is so convincing that fans continue to be surprised when he speaks with his natural Australian accent. For example, when he hosted "Saturday Night Live" in 2024, some viewers on social media thought his Australian accent was fake, or at least embellished. "I've edited the way I speak so much in the last five years," Elordi told Esquire about moving to America and doing his best to avoid using Australian slang terms. 

Growing up, Elordi recalled being infatuated with Eminem and wanted to be just like the rapper, even wearing similar clothes. Yet, after moving to America and being immersed in the culture he admired as a young man, Elordi still prefers some aspects of Australian life. "The isolation is a big thing. When I first moved here, everyone was very closed in on themselves. It seemed like ordering a coffee was like a standoff," he told GQ. "When I'm in America, I feel like I'm killing time waiting for my real life to begin," Elordi added.

Beyond being immersed in movies and TV, Jacob Elordi is also a huge fan of entertainment through literature. According to Elordi, he likes to always have a book by his side because a few times in his life, he has ended up in a hospital waiting room and wished he could have a book to read instead of just his phone while sometimes waiting up to eight hours. As a result, he typically travels with a stack of books, including a traveler's notepad to write down his thoughts and a workbook for notes on characters he plays in films. Elordi's eclectic mix has included a set of plays by Tennessee Williams and usually a piece of fiction. For example, the actor read Evelyn Waugh's "Brideshead Revisited," a story similar to his movie "Saltburn" in 2023. "I hate to be without things because then the ideas and the thoughts just disappear. I don't want to miss anything, I think," he explained to GQ about his need to constantly have books in his life.

Even when working on movies, Elordi still reads his books, like when he read books by Jack Kerouac while filming "The Kissing Booth." His tastes range from newer works from authors like Donna Tartt to classic writing like "The Odyssey" by Homer. Elordi is also a huge fan of the most famous stage writer ever. "I love Shakespeare more than anything, but I'd say that's maybe a given with actors," he told Bustle.

In a true breakout role, Jacob Elordi played Noah Flynn alongside costar Joey King in the 2018 Netflix film "The Kissing Booth." Up until that point, he only had a few minor acting credits in short works and was completely unknown to global audiences. That all changed with the romantic comedy, where he played the love interest. Audiences also fell in love, and the day after the film's release, Elordi gained 4 million Instagram followers. Ready or not, Elordi was suddenly a bona fide star. "I had to go through and delete my high school pictures because that was the Instagram that I used for my life," he admitted to GQ. "I wish people could understand how drastic that change was," Elordi added.

While the role clearly opened doors for Elordi as an actor, he has a complicated relationship with the film series. "I didn't want to make those movies before I made those movies. Those movies are ridiculous. They're not universal. They're an escape," he told GQ about "The Kissing Booth." Even though he reprised his Noah character in the 2020 sequel "The Kissing Booth 2" and the following year with "The Kissing Booth 3," Elordi said that taking such roles could be dangerous if he never picked other passion projects. If not, he said it becomes a career of working for others instead of himself, and according to the actor, "you have no original ideas and you're dead inside."

As one of the most well-recognized young actors in Hollywood, Jacob Elordi uses his moments in the spotlight to show off an impressive sense of style. He can excel at black tie events in a double-breasted tuxedo, like the one he wore at the Venice International Film Festival. He is also unafraid of bold looks, like when he went to a Tiffany & Co. event in a lilac shirt with an untied neck bow and perhaps even a touch of lipstick. Even at times when most people are dressing purely for comfort, like before a long flight, Elordi is emanating style. He was spotted at the Sydney International Airport in 2023 wearing a classic leather jacket, cargo pants, and baseball hat while browsing for books prior to a flight. The secret to Elordi's taste is actually quite simple. According to the actor, he follows the ethos of the best fashion advice he ever received. "If it makes you smile, wear it," Elordi told W Magazine.

Often, his looks include pierced ears and a Saint Christopher medal or pendant. Both these accessories are inspired by what two of his favorite actors wore, Daniel Day-Lewis with the earring and Steve McQueen with the necklace. It's Elordi's collection of mini designer handbags that might be his most recognizable personal accessory, though he admitted he never personally bought a bag. "People that have all this money aren't spending it. You just get sent stuff," he admitted to GQ.

Prior to the release of the first "The Kissing Booth," Jacob Elordi was essentially unknown in Hollywood. Even more, he had to be in South Africa to film the Netflix romcom, meaning fewer opportunities to audition for roles in Los Angeles. When filming wrapped on "The Kissing Booth," Elordi returned to California nearly broke. In fact, the actor admitted that some nights, he would park on the iconic Mulholland Drive and sleep in his car. "I think I had — I don't know, $400 or $800 left in my bank account," he admitted to GQ. "I had no money, I didn't have anything, I was practically homeless in LA," the actor recalled to Wonderland. He continued to miss out on landing roles and after his lack of success, Elordi thought it might be best to return home to Australia, reset, and make some money. Before flying back across the world, he took one last audition — for "Euphoria."

After landing the role in "Euphoria," Elordi still didn't come into a windfall of money. While filming the pilot episode, Elordi was still essentially living out of his car, which he remembered "was like a hoarder's, stacked with boxes and coat hangers and things." One of the show's producers noticed the future star's state of affairs and immediately booked him a room at a nice hotel in West Hollywood. About the experience, he said, "I got really lucky, which is just an LA story, you know?"

With every one of his performances, Jacob Elordi appears to grow even more popular. With this comes constant attention, whether he wants it or not. As Elordi recalls, the first time he encountered paparazzi with their cameras in his face, "it felt like, all of a sudden, I was a poster, like I was a billboard," he told GQ. Even worse, once all the pictures ended, Elordi still felt emotionally scarred from the experience and couldn't distinguish between genuine admiration or if people were solely monetizing his photos. "It really skews your view. It creates a very paranoid way of living," he admitted about fame. Another fear for the actor is that life as a celebrity will distort his personality. "Going on a walk in Byron Bay, at my home, maybe one day that won't hold the same value to me, because I've sanded down all my edges. I have no taste anymore," Elordi explained. So, to help navigate superstardom in his twenties, the actor asked his "Deep Water" costar Ben Affleck for advice on being in the spotlight because, as Elordi put it, "I got no idea. I'm 25 years old." As Elordi recalled, Affleck was honest that fame can be demoralizing.

While admittedly, fame initially bothered him, especially strangers knowing his name, Elordi learned to ignore all the chatter. "It literally has nothing to do with me. It just doesn't affect the trajectory of my life," he told Entertainment Tonight.

On at least one occasion, Jacob Elordi blurred the line between safely acting out violence on camera and a real scuffle when he went a little too hard while filming a scene. While working on an on-screen fight with his dad on "Euphoria," actor Eric Dane, Elordi suggested the two men "rock and roll and make it sort of as real as possible," he explained to Entertainment Weekly. Elordi got his wish when Dane collided with him so hard that he started bleeding. "I got a concussion. I ended up throwing up after work. It was gnarly," Elordi admitted. Fortunately, the incident occurred just before wrapping up filming for the season so Elordi could recover. Plus, he said he would do it all over again. "It was incredibly grueling, but it was so worthwhile and I definitely couldn't have done it without Eric and Sam kind of walking me through it and helping me out," he said about his costar and series creator. According to Elordi, if you look closely at this photo shoot with Wonderland, you can still see cuts on his arm from the incident.

In his high school days, it was ironically a sports injury that helped him dedicate his free time to acting. After breaking a bone in his back while playing rugby, he felt no pressure to continue to play sports and could "just fade away, onto the stage. Which was really, really rewarding," Elordi told Men's Health.

A friend of Jacob Elordi's had a litter of golden retrievers, and the actor became the dad to the smallest one. His dog, named Layla, is almost always by his side. While interviewing with Men's Health, Elordi brought Layla to a coffee shop to meet the journalist, and an employee asked if she was a service dog. Elordi said Layla was before admitting to the magazine, "She makes me happy, which is a service." In another interview with Vogue, Elordi posed by the pool with Layla by his side.

According to Elordi, Layla is an integral part of his profession as an actor. He revealed that he reads lines with his pet, and as a result, "she speaks about 500 words of English," he joked to GQ. On why he loves Layla so much, the actor explained, "She's a genius. She feels shame. She feels happiness." He called Layla his rock and said, "She's my best friend. She's my confidante." The dog is also well-traveled, as paparazzi have spotted Elordi on both coasts with Layla. The actor took his pet for a walk in Los Angeles in early 2022 while the following year, Elordi was seen walking around New York City together with Layla and his girlfriend Olivia Jade.

One of Jacob Elordi's first memorable moments in film came while watching "The Lord of the Rings." He said that Orlando Bloom was his first cinematic inspiration, calling him perfect. "He was so pure and fine," Elordi told W Magazine. Then, another reason Jacob Elordi began acting was because he watched fellow Aussie Heath Ledger's performance as the Joker in "The Dark Night." After seeing the Oscar-winning performance, Elordi "realized that somebody was actually doing something quite important and special," he told Wonderland. This set in motion Elordi's devotion to motion pictures, watching films from classic directors like Federico Fellini and Stanley Kubrick to newer favorites like the Safdie brothers. Elordi is also a traditionalist and loves to see films in the theater alongside fellow cinephiles. "I feel like you owe it to filmmakers and creatives and to you yourself as a human being, to get up and be like, 'I'm excited to go to the theater and buy a popcorn and sit down in the seat and hold my ticket in my hand,'" the actor said.

In terms of movie genres, Elordi revealed that one of his favorites is noir crime dramas. He called film noir sexy and said he became especially interested after preparing for a role to portray Orson Welles. While he never had a chance to fulfill the role, Elordi explained that he hopes to one day make his noir movie.

Jacob Elordi recalls his acting career was about as low as it could've been when he decided to read for a role in an upcoming HBO drama. "I auditioned — this was at a point where the movies that I'd made hadn't come out," the actor recalled to Wonderland. To make matters even worse, Elordi admitted that he forgot some of his lines during the casting process. "I had no name, I had no backing, you could not find any video of me acting anywhere. I was just a child," he explained about his career status during the "Euphoria" auditions. Still, there was something special about Elordi, and he received a call back on the same day as his audition.

Even with the necessity for Elordi to land the part, or any part, he admitted he enjoyed the entire casting process for the show, especially as an underdog with limited experiences in Hollywood. "I was just trying to be a working actor and just went in. Call back. Call back. And then next thing I know, we were making the show," he told W Magazine. Elordi was also pleased to see the transformation of his character beyond initial impressions. The actor remembered his character Nate in the audition read as "just a macho college a**hole. He was abusive and drinking and yelling at people and throwing his chest around. I had no idea of the scope or the depth that was to come," Elordi explained.