Transforming into a movie monster is a demanding process, but for Jacob Elordi‘s role in Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein, it was a ten-hour daily marathon. The film’s prosthetics team head has revealed that the actor’s incredible patience was the key factor that made the stunning transformation possible.
Mike Hill, the prosthetic makeup effects department head, stated that the daily process of applying 42 separate prosthetics to Elordi was an immense undertaking. He emphasized that the star’s cooperative attitude was essential to the success of the physical transformation.
“Without Jacob Elordi’s patience, this would not have been possible,” Mike Hill told ELLE magazine.
The result is a performance and a visual creation that critics and audiences are praising. The film currently holds a high score of 95% from audiences on the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes.
The Massive Scale of the Prosthetic Work
The sheer number of prosthetic pieces applied to Jacob Elordi each day highlights the complexity of the transformation. The full-body Creature look required a total of 42 individual appliances. This included 14 prosthetic pieces applied to his head and neck alone.
The application process began late at night, with a call time of 10:00 p.m., and took a full 10 hours to complete. The removal process was also lengthy, taking about 90 minutes. An inflatable sauna was set up in Elordi’s trailer to help the prosthetics come off more easily. A team of eight people was needed to apply all the pieces to the actor.
The design, led by Hill, aimed to show a being that was deliberately constructed, not just damaged. He used geometric patterns on the skin to make it clear that the Creature had been designed and tailor-made by Victor Frankenstein. The overall look was inspired by textures and colors from the 1800s, such as alabaster statues and ivory, rather than the green tones of traditional movie monsters.
An Emotionally Demanding Performance
Despite the focus on his physicality, the performance required deep emotional work. Mike Hill was particularly impressed by what Elordi brought to the role beyond his physical stature.
“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,” Hill explained.
To prepare for the role, Elordi took Japanese butoh dance classes, which influenced his movement, making the Creature’s first steps seem like those of a child learning to walk. He also studied the Book of the Bible to connect with the character’s thematic roots.
Jacob Elordi’s Personal Approach to the Role
For Jacob Elordi, the long hours in the makeup chair became part of his creative process. He described the ten-hour transformation as a liberating experience that helped him mentally step into the role.
“It was 10 hours to kind of relinquish myself and become this thing that’s other, which was a great relief, really,” Elordi told Deadline.
He also credited director Guillermo del Toro for fostering a supportive and safe environment on set. Elordi clarified that his approach was not a “tortured” Method acting style but was instead creatively freeing, allowing him to deliver a vulnerable and open performance. His costar, Oscar Isaac, who plays Dr. Victor Frankenstein, confirmed this dedication, noting that Elordi endured the process without complaint.
A New Vision for a Classic Creature
This version of the Creature moves away from the classic Boris Karloff look with bolts in the neck. Del Toro and his team went back to Mary Shelley’s original 1818 novel for inspiration. The design is more anatomical, intended to look like the inside of a human body placed on the outside.
The costume design, led by Kate Hawley, worked in tandem with the prosthetics. The Creature’s iconic heavy coat, taken from a skeleton on a battlefield, was designed with a printed spine on the back to echo the anatomical themes of the makeup. The costume was so large and heavy that it had to be wheeled to the set.
The film Frankenstein had a limited theatrical release on October 17, 2025, and began streaming on Netflix on November 7, 2025.
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