Jacob Elordi breaks down in tears as ‘Frankenstein’ receives longest standing ovation at Venice Film Festival
Jacob Elordi was overwhelmed with emotions at the 2025 Venice International Film Festival. On August 30, the 28-year-old Australian actor stepped out to attend the annual film festival for the world premiere of his upcoming movie, 'Frankenstein.' As per Variety, the film received a rapturous 13-minute standing ovation, which is the longest of this year’s festival. During the lengthy ovation, Elordi couldn't hold back his tears as the entire crowd continued to applaud. In a video shared by the media outlet on X (formerly known as Twitter), Elordi can be seen sharing a warm hug with writer-director Guillermo del Toro and his co-star Mia Goth, before looking out into the audience and bowing his head.
For the unversed, let us share with you that 'Frankenstein' is a sci-fi horror film which is based on Mary Shelley's 1818 novel of the same name. It narrates the story of a brilliant scientist named Victor Frankenstein who "brings a creature to life in a monstrous experiment that ultimately leads to the undoing of both the creator and his tragic creation." Along with Elordi and Goth, the film also stars Christoph Waltz, Oscar Isaac, Felix Kammerer, Lars Mikkelsen, David Bradley, Lauren Collins, and Charles Dance in pivotal roles.
In the film, Isaac essays the character of Victor Frankenstein, meanwhile, Elordi plays the role of the monstrous creature. While appearing at a press conference earlier that day, Elordi candidly spoke about transforming into his character. "It was a vessel that I could put every part of myself into. From the moment that I was born to being here with you today, all of it is in that character. And in so many ways, the creature that’s on screen in this movie is the sort of purest form of myself. He’s more me than I am," Elordi said, according to Deadline.
During an interview with Variety, Elordi revealed that while working on the film, he used to be in the makeup chair for 10 hours daily to transform into an unrecognizable monster. While shedding light on the process of transforming into the creature with translucent skin, Elordi further elaborated, "There’s so many different layers to the costume. When he’s born, he’s wearing nearly nothing. His chest is open and his head is high. Then, as he starts to experience pain, as we do as a teenager, he starts to hunch his shoulders. And as an adult, he closes off."
However, Elordi wasn't del Toro's first choice for the role. Yes, you read it right. Initially, Del Toro wanted to cast the 'Spider-Man: No Way Home' star Andrew Garfield as the iconic literary antihero, but unfortunately, Garfield had to turn down the role due to scheduling conflicts. Eventually, Elordi bagged the titular role in his kitty, and while chatting with ScreenRant, Garfield stated that he was glad Elordi took over the role from him. Then, Garfield said, "I was just with Jacob Elordi, who ended up playing the character of The Creature, in Marrakech, so I was hearing about how amazing and satisfying that was for him. So I'm very, very glad that it was him doing it."
