The collaboration between actor Jacob Elordi and director Guillermo del Toro on the new Netflix film “Frankenstein” was a meeting of creative minds, beginning with an extensive research process that Elordi jokingly described as receiving a library. Their partnership focused on reimagining one of literature’s most famous monsters as a innocent, newborn soul rather than a stitched-together horror.
Del Toro’s vision for the Creature required a profound physical and emotional transformation from Elordi, who underwent marathon makeup sessions and developed a unique physicality to portray the being’s journey from innocence to experience. The film, which stars Oscar Isaac as Victor Frankenstein and Mia Goth in a dual role, presents a fresh take on Mary Shelley’s classic novel, emphasizing the humanity of the Creature.
Forging a Creative Bond
The professional relationship between Elordi and del Toro began with a deep dive into research and preparation. When Andrew Garfield left the project nine weeks before filming began, del Toro turned to Elordi, who was initially nervous about their first meeting.
“I have this thing which I’m trying to shake, but every time I have to talk to a director I’m up all night,” Elordi recalled. “You set your iPhone up and you’re like, ‘You have to chill.’ But then you think, ‘Should I just be in a white T-shirt or should I be more dressed up? It’s Guillermo del Toro, so I need to look like I’m educated, but also excited.”
Their connection was immediate, with del Toro seeing in Elordi the perfect innocence and humanity he envisioned for the Creature. The director started their partnership by sending Elordi a substantial collection of books for research.
Elordi joked about the extensive reading material, saying, “You sent me a library.”
This foundation of research and mutual understanding set the stage for what would become one of the most demanding roles of Elordi’s career.
The Physical Demands of Creation
Transforming into the Creature required an extraordinary commitment from Elordi, who endured up to 10 hours daily in the makeup chair for the full-body prosthetics. The process involved applying 42 separate prosthetic pieces, with 14 for the head and neck alone. Makeup artist Mike Hill noted that Elordi’s patience was remarkable throughout the grueling process.
The prosthetic design broke from tradition by avoiding visible stitches and bolts. Instead, Hill and del Toro created a being that appeared newborn rather than repaired, using geometric patterns to show the Creature was man-made. They focused on keeping Elordi’s eyes visible to maintain the character’s soulfulness, with only minor enhancements using a brown contact lens to make one eye appear slightly larger.
Hill explained the reasoning behind this approach: “I knew that if we made his face too garishly horrible, when you’re in a tight close-up on this character, if you’re looking at wounds and gore, you’re distracted. You have to keep the soul here.”
The makeup was so extensive that only the tip of Elordi’s nose, his upper lip, and chin remained uncovered. The team performed this full-body transformation approximately 20 times throughout the production.
Finding the Creature’s Movement and Voice
Beyond the physical appearance, Elordi developed the Creature’s movement and voice through extensive research and practice. He drew inspiration from Butoh, a Japanese form of dance known for its slow, deliberate, and often disjointed movements.
Del Toro observed Elordi’s physical transformation, noting, “When he came in, he had an innocence the first day of shooting. He had a purity of somebody that had never lived, I was absolutely enthralled. And then he started moving. He moved like a baby and an insect and something disjointed.”
For the Creature’s voice, Elordi studied Mongolian throat singing, describing it as “guttural smooth chanting.” He practiced his lines with the false teeth required for the role to understand how they would affect his speech, resulting in early vocalizations that he described as feeling “like it got hit in the head with a bat.”
The character’s physicality evolved throughout the film, beginning with nearly nothing worn, then progressing as the Creature experiences pain and eventually adopts clothing taken from a Crimean War battlefield.
A New Vision for a Classic Character
Del Toro’s interpretation of the Frankenstein story returns to the themes of Mary Shelley’s original novel while offering a fresh perspective. He approached the material with deep reverence, explaining, “I’ve lived with Mary Shelley’s creation all my life. For me, it’s the Bible, but I wanted to make it my own, to sing it back in a different key with a different emotion.”
The director specifically wanted to avoid the period piece feel that often accompanies adaptations of classic literature. “When she wrote Frankenstein, it was not a period piece,” del Toro noted. “It was a modern book, so I didn’t want you to see a pastel-colored period piece.”
This contemporary approach extended to the production design and costumes, with del Toro giving costume designer Kate Hawley the directive, “I don’t want any top hats.” The resulting world feels both historically grounded and immediately engaging.
The Demons of Creation
At the heart of the film is the dynamic between Elordi’s Creature and Oscar Isaac’s Victor Frankenstein. Del Toro conceived of Victor as less of a pure scientist and more of an artist and performer. Isaac prepared for the role by studying rock stars like Prince and Mick Jagger, incorporating their swagger into his portrayal.
Del Toro described Victor’s complex psychology: “Like all tyrants, Victor believes himself to be a victim. Everybody that is a tyrant loves being a victim — ‘Poor me’ — and in the meantime, they’re destroying everybody’s life. That’s Victor.”
The laboratory set, designed by Tamara Deverell, became a stage for Victor’s performances. Housed in an abandoned water tower, the space featured a massive circular window and marble floors, with design elements that reflected del Toro’s recurring circle motif representing the cycle of life.
A Monster with Soul
For del Toro, monsters have always held special significance in storytelling. “For me, only monsters hold the secrets I long for,” he shared. This perspective shaped his approach to the Creature, whom he sees not as a horror figure but as a tragic, newborn being grappling with existence.
The extensive collaboration between Elordi and del Toro resulted in a Creature that stands apart from previous screen interpretations. Rather than focusing on the monstrous aspects, their partnership emphasized the character’s humanity, innocence, and emotional journey.
Elordi’s commitment to the role extended beyond the lengthy makeup process. He abandoned conventional timekeeping during production, later explaining, “I stopped having a clock, and I would just wait till the SUV arrived. That meant it was time to go. I didn’t do breakfast, lunch or dinner, or think in terms of morning, afternoon, night. It was just one time.”
Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein is now streaming on Netflix after a theatrical release that began on October 17.
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