Jacob Elordi has revealed he perfected his Yorkshire accent for his role in Guillermo del Toro's 'Frankenstein' by practising in the bath. The 28-year-old Australian actor, who plays the creature in the gothic adaptation, said he enjoyed the distinct sounds of the northern English accent, particularly the 'meks' and 'teks' instead of 'makes' and 'takes'.
Elordi, who also stars as Heathcliff in Emerald Fennell's upcoming 'Wuthering Heights', admitted that the transition between the two roles caused some confusion. In an interview with Variety, he recalled that during an early scene for 'Wuthering Heights', he responded to another actor with a grunt, as he had learned to do for his Frankenstein character.
The actor explained that his creature's Yorkshire-tinged accent was inspired by veteran actor David Bradley, who plays the blind man in the film. Bradley, 83, was born in York and previously voiced Geppetto in del Toro's 'Pinocchio'. Elordi noted that when the creature learns to speak, 'there are little bits and bobs' of Bradley's accent.
Elordi had only three weeks to prepare for the role after replacing Andrew Garfield. He described the character as 'more me than I am', saying that he could put every part of himself into the role. The performance has earned him his first Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor.
Del Toro's 'Frankenstein' features a new design for the creature, inspired by alabaster statues, with a focus on beauty rather than the traditional 'accident victim' look. The director also enforced a 'no stitches' rule for the character's appearance.
