Jacob Elordi on Why Losing Weight to Play a Prisoner of War in ‘Narrow Road to the Deep North’ ‘Wasn’t Torture’: ‘There Was a Peace That Came Over All of Us’ – Variety
By
Ellise Shafer
Jacob Elordi had to lose weight to play a prisoner of war in the new Justin Kurzel-directed series “The Narrow Road to the Deep North” — but to him it “wasn’t complete torture.”
When Variety asked how the weight loss affected him at a Berlin Film Festival press conference, the “Euphoria” and “Saltburn” actor said it was actually “a very calming experience” to go through the process with his fellow cast members, whom he affectionally called “the lads.”
“I think there was something quite profound that happened, in that it wasn’t complete torture,” he said. “There was a peace that sort of came over all of us. And you kind of reach a level of love that goes beyond what you’re used to, because everything gets stripped away and you come down to the bare bones of, ‘Is my mate OK? Am I OK? How can I help? Do you want a jellybean?’”
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Elordi, who was sporting sideburns (perhaps for his latest role as Heathcliff in Emerald Fennell’s “Wuthering Heights”?) added that the cast was “watching each other and taking care of each other, so it [became] quite primal. And I’m just really grateful to have shared that with these lads.”
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Based on Richard Flanagan’s Booker Prize-winning novel of the same name, “The Narrow Road to the Deep North” follows medical officer Dorrigo Evans, a “Japanese prisoner of war forced to work on the Thai-Burma railway” who is “haunted by the memory of his affair with his uncle’s wife, Amy,” according to an official synopsis. The series follows his life “over the span of several decades as he moves from being a soldier to prisoner, to returned war hero, to esteemed surgeon and reluctant celebrity.”
Kurzel had said earlier in the conference that “the boys made an incredible sacrifice to lose an enormous amount of weight” and it was “incredibly powerful in terms of what it felt like on set and the connection that they all had.”
Alongside Elordi, “The Narrow Road to the Deep North” also stars Ciarán Hinds, Odessa Young, Olivia DeJonge and Simon Baker. Australian director Kurzel is best known for his film “Macbeth” (2015), “Assassin’s Creed” (2016), “Nitram” (2021) and last year’s “The Order.”
Elsewhere at the presser, Elordi discussed his motivations when it comes to choosing roles. “I really am just a superfan who is kind of following his heart,” he said. “I have no real interest in making movies for the sake of entertainment, for making money. It’s to try and capture that impossible feeling that we all have when we see something that’s of substance to us.”
Elordi has built up quite the filmography as of late, starring in Sofia Coppola’s “Priscilla,” Emerald Fennell’s “Saltburn,” Paul Schrader’s “Oh, Canada” and the forthcoming “On Swift Horses.” He will next be seen in Guillermo del Toro’s “Frankenstein” as the Monster in November, before “Wuthering Heights” — which he leads alongside Margot Robbie — is set to debut in 2026.
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