Jacob Elordi took over the role of Frankenstein’s monster after Andrew Garfield dropped out of the upcoming Guillermo del Toro film, Frankenstein. Now, the director is sharing new details about what that transition was like.
Garfield had to drop out of Frankenstein due to scheduling conflicts. In a recent interview, del Toro told Vanity Fair he and his frequent makeup artist collaborator Mike Hill had spent nine months designing and refining Garfield’s look as the monster before eventually having to scrap those plans.
“Andrew Garfield stepping out and Jacob coming in. I mean, it was like, Jacob is the most perfect actor for the creature,” del Toro said. “And we have a supernaturally good connection. It’s like, very few words. Very few things I have to say, and he does it. … We recast, and we had nine weeks [to get the look down]. You can’t be under more pressure than that.”
Hill also spoke to the outlet about why Elordi ended up being the perfect person for the role.
“What attracted me to him was his gangliness and his wrists. It was this looseness,” Hill said. “Then he has these real somber moments where he watches you really deftly, and his eyelids are low, with the long lashes like [Boris] Karloff. I was like, ‘I don’t know who else you could get with a physicality like this.’ His demeanor is innocent, but it’s encompassed in a six-foot-five frame. He could really do a lot of damage if this man really wanted to be a bad guy.”
Netflix released first-look photos of del Toro’s Frankenstein on Monday. The pictures show off cast members Elordi, Oscar Isaac and Mia Goth.
Felix Kammerer, Lars Mikkelsen and Christoph Waltz also star in the upcoming film.
Frankenstein arrives on Netflix in November 2025.
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