Jacob Elordi: ‘In America, I feel like I’m killing time waiting for my real life to begin’

Jacob Elordi is GQ’s Man of the Year, mostly for his dual awards-season performances in Priscilla and Saltburn. Saltburn barely gets a mention in this GQ piece, so it looks like Priscilla will be his calling card for a while. This interview was done during the strike because Sofia Coppola got a waiver for the film, so Elordi and the cast already have a big leg up on promotion and awards-season stuff. I have never paid much attention to Elordi and I only recently learned that he is, in fact, Australian and not American or British. He’s really funny and charming in this interview – sort of like a tall, Aussie version of Timothee Chalamet (Elordi is only one year younger than Chalamet). Some highlights:

He didn’t want to copy Austin Butler’s Elvis: “It certainly crossed my mind briefly before I’d read the script. I don’t want to tell the same story over, especially because he did such a fine job of portraying this man. It’s a completely different thing. And it’s terribly exciting, too, running into the fire a little bit. I can’t think of anything more exhilarating.”

He kept the Elvis voice the whole time during filming. “There’s all these layers and hoops that you have to jump through to get to that voice. So for me personally to be dropping out my voice and then coming in, it’s not going to work.” Priscilla, for one, approved. “She said I got the voice right,” Elordi says, “which was everything I needed to get.” (His voice bears no traces of Elvis-speak today.)

He did try to become “bloated Elvis.” “It was the first time in my life that I ever had a gut. Bacon. It was about a pound of bacon every day. And then when I’d go to Canada…it was poutine and hamburgers…. It’s really my pleasure. I could order Uber Eats and be like, ‘Should I get that burger after I’ve just had Italian? Yeah. Yeah, I will.’ ”

He’s been working on an American accent since he was 14. “I think I just wanted to be able to mimic the people that I thought were cool,” he says. “Like who?” I ask, thinking of any number of the classic actors he had spoken of admiring. “Probably Vin Diesel.”

The Kissing Booth movies: “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.”

Australia & LA do not have similar vibes: “If Australians are like freshwater fish, Americans are saltwater fish. It kind of looks the same. The water is water, you’re swimming around, but you can’t breathe. The isolation is a big thing [in America]. When I first moved here, everyone was very closed in on themselves. It seemed like ordering a coffee was like a standoff. You know? Everyone. With people in line, walking into the coffee shop, the barista. It was very guarded. Everything’s very guarded,” he says. In Australia, “a coffee shop is sacred. When I’m in America, I feel like I’m killing time waiting for my real life to begin. And I spend all my time here.”

The latest movie he saw: “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem. I’ve seen that movie four times. That movie is so funny. Those kids, I think they’re so hilarious. It’s super, super meticulous and well thought-out. In the hotels, it’s been my comfort movie.”

Superhero movies: “Well, they asked me to read for Superman. That was immediately, ‘No, thank you.’ That’s too much. That’s too dark for me.”

When he’s called pretentious. “How is caring about your output pretentious? But not caring, and knowingly feeding people sh-t, knowing that you’re making money off of people’s time, which is literally the most valuable thing that they have. How is that the cool thing?”

He loves carrying petite handbags. “It’s not so deliberate. I lose stuff a lot. Where I grew up, we had a culture where you wore bum bags, fanny packs…. When I leave home, I need to have a certain thing from every category with me in case I get bored—a book, a notepad, rolls of film, a camera, a pen. My mom just bought me a pocket watch that I keep to Australia time, so I always have that. I never bought a bag. Maybe that should be something that is exposed about Hollywood. All these people think, I wish I had that lifestyle. I mean, yes, to get them for free—that’s great. What a great lifestyle. But people that have all this money aren’t spending it. You just get sent stuff. It blows my mind.”

[From GQ]

There’s a real “charming himbo” vibe here and I’m into it. He’s funny, he carries a purse, he wants Vin Diesel’s American accent, he loves bacon, and CB said that TMNT movie is great. GQ makes it clear that Elordi kind of wanders through his life and good sh-t just happens to him. Like, he’ll randomly run into a good friend on the street, the timing of things just works out for him, things come very easily to him at every level. Some of it is typical “handsome white man” stuff, but he just seems to live an exceptionally charmed life.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, IG courtesy of GQ.

Jacob Elordi arrives on the red carpet of the 94th Oscars® at the Dolby Theatre at Ovation Hollywood in Los Angeles, CA, on Sunday, March 27, 2022.,Image: 673536106, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: Avalon Licensing Ltd. do not claim any Copyright of the attached image WORLD RIGHTS- Fee Payable Upon reproduction – For queries contact Avalon London +44 20 7421 6000 Los Angeles +1 310 822 0419 Berlin +49 30 76 212 251 Madrid +34 91 533, Model Release: no, Credit line: Avalon.red / Avalon

Italy, Lido di Venezia, September 4, 2023: Jacob Elordi attends the red carpet for the movie ‘Priscilla’ at the 80th Venice International Film Festival on September 4, 2023 in Venice, Italy.,Image: 802965407, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: **** World right excluding Italy ****, Model Release: no, Credit line: Ottavia Da Re / Agenzia Sintesi / Avalon

Jacob Elordi bei der Premiere des Kinofilms Priscilla auf der Biennale di Venezia 2023 / 80. Internationale Filmfestspiele von Venedig im Palazzo del Cinema. Venedig, 04.09.2023 *** Jacob Elordi at the premiere of the feature film Priscilla at the Biennale di Venezia 2023 80 Venice International Film Festival at Palazzo del Cinema Venice, 04 09 2023. Foto: priscilla_3109,Image: 803081268, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: imago is entitled to issue a simple usage license at the time of provision. Personality and trademark rights as well as copyright laws regarding art-works shown must be observed. Commercial use at your own risk., Model Release: no, Credit line: IMAGO/Anna Maria Tinghino / Avalon