It’s the transformation of your dreams—more like nightmares! Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein is finally out on Netflix, and everyone is obsessed with the Creature. Jacob Elordi stepped into the shoes of the Creature, brought to life by Victor Frankenstein (Oscar Isaac), the mad scientist who wants to play God and conquer death. While del Toro’s direction is winning praise from critics and audiences alike, the streaming platform has released behind-the-scenes footage of Elordi getting ready.Jacob Elordi’s transformationFor Jacob Elordi, transforming into the Creature was no easy task. It was emotionally as well as physically draining. The transformation required Elordi to spend roughly ten hours in the make-up chair for each day of filming. Yes, you read that right—almost half a day was spent in the chair as special effects and make-up artist Mike Hill and his team carefully glued the pieces of the Creature together. The process was a true marriage of prosthetics and patience. They had to work on Elordi’s face and entire body to get the look right. While the actor’s imposing height, standing at six feet five inches, provided an ideal foundation for the character, his contribution went far deeper than physical attributes.Check out the BTS:“I know that there’s a lot of press saying how good [Elordi] was physically for the part (standing at) 6’5″. Yes, he was a fabulous canvas for me to play with and to work this creature on. But there’s also a soul in there, and there’s an active performance in there,” Mike Hill told. ELLE,Getting the make-up done consumed a huge amount of Elordi’s time—almost ten hours to apply the prosthetics from head to toe. “Without Jacob Elordi’s patience, this would not have been possible,” Hill added.The Creature’s look was created based on human anatomy. From jigsaw-piece body parts to the clothing, a great deal of research and effort went into designing the look. The fate of the film depended on it. In fact, even before casting Elordi, the director connected with Hill and said, “Mike, I’m doing FrankensteinIf you don’t make the creature, we’re not making the movie. So it’s up to you.”To complete the full-body look, Hill and his team had to assemble 42 pieces, including 14 for the head and neck. Not just that—Elordi had to sit in the make-up chair for another 90 minutes to remove the prosthetics. They even set up an inflatable sauna in Elordi’s trailer to help shed them. Before filming began, Hill connected with Elordi via Zoom and warned the actor about the tedious preparation. “I said, ‘Look, Jacob, you’re going to hate my face at 2 am when I’m leaning over you, and I’m going to hate yours because you’re hating mine,’” Hill recalled.But the most striking part is that Elordi never complained. “He didn’t complain. But I know there’s inner turmoil. How could there not be?”All about FrankensteinHelmed by Guillermo del Toro, Frankenstein is based on Mary Shelley’s eponymous 1818 novel. The Oscar winner reimagines the classic tale of a brilliant scientist and the creature his monstrous ambition brings to life. Oscar Isaac, Jacob Elordi, and Mia Goth play the lead roles. The film is currently streaming on Netflix.
