No one could have predicted Jacob Elordi’s Hollywood trajectory. Here was a guy, all perfect bone structure and brooding eyes, who went from fronting the interminable Netflix sap-fest The Kissing Booth to playing the vile “emotional terrorist” of Sam Levinson’s gritty drama Euphoria within a year. Vince Marcello’s rom-com received disastrous reviews but became one of the streamer’s top titles when it was released in 2018, prompting Netflix to release second and third instalments in 2020 and 2021. These did little to change critics’ opinion of the franchise, and would likely have typecast Elordi as yet another mushy romance lead. Fortunately for the young Australian actor, the world was already high on Euphoria by the time he reprised his role in The Kissing Booth sequel and threequel.
The R-rated HBO show chronicles the intertwined lives of a group of 17-year-olds as they navigate sexuality, gender dysphoria, self harm, depression, and addiction. It is unnerving, intoxicating, and revealing. Euphoria was released in June 2019 and found instant critical and commercial success. The show was renewed for a second season less than a month after its premiere, Zendaya became the youngest recipient of an Emmy award for her performance as its drug-addled protagonist Rue Bennett, and Elordi earned himself a second shot at stardom. As the show’s totem of toxic masculinity and white privilege, Nate Jacobs is among Euphoria’s most hated characters – making relative newcomer Elordi’s decision to play it a revelation.
