The actor who plays the monster—formally known as Frankenstein’s Creature—in the 2025 film adaptation directed by Guillermo del Toro is Jacob Elordi. Elordi stepped into the role in early 2024, replacing Andrew Garfield, who was forced to depart the project due to scheduling conflicts caused by industry-wide strike delays.
Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein, which premiered on Netflix in 2025, represents a long-awaited passion project for the Academy Award-winning director. While many actors have donned the heavy prosthetics of the Creature over the last century, Elordi’s portrayal is noted for its blend of imposing physicality and profound vulnerability. At 6'5", Elordi brings a natural scale to the role that aligns with Mary Shelley’s original literary description of an eight-foot-tall being composed of disparate parts.
Jacob Elordi: From Teen Heartthrob to Gothic Icon
Jacob Elordi’s casting as the Creature marked a significant milestone in his rapid ascent within Hollywood. Before taking on one of the most famous roles in horror history, Elordi was primarily known for his work in the hit HBO series Euphoria and the Netflix trilogy The Kissing Booth. However, it was his 2023 and 2024 performances in prestige films like Saltburn (directed by Emerald Fennell) and Priscilla (directed by Sofia Coppola), where he played Elvis Presley, that proved his range to casting directors and audiences alike.
The transition from playing a stylized version of the "King of Rock and Roll" to a reanimated corpse required more than just a change in costume. Elordi’s commitment to the role involved extensive physical training and hours of daily prosthetic application. Del Toro, known for his meticulous attention to creature design, reportedly sought an actor who could emote through heavy makeup—a skill Elordi demonstrated by focusing on eye movement and subtle vocal shifts.
The Casting Shift: Replacing Andrew Garfield
The road to Elordi’s casting was not without its hurdles. Originally, the role of the Monster was set to be played by Andrew Garfield. Garfield, an Oscar nominee known for The Amazing Spider-Man and Tick, Tick... Boom!, was officially attached to the project in early 2023. However, the SAG-AFTRA and WGA strikes of 2023 pushed production schedules across the industry.
By the time Frankenstein was ready to begin principal photography in early 2024, Garfield had prior commitments that he could no longer move. In January 2024, it was announced that Jacob Elordi would take over the role. This change was met with significant intrigue, as it shifted the dynamic of the film. While Garfield might have brought a more wiry, nervous energy to the Creature, Elordi’s stature provided a more traditional, "monstrous" silhouette while maintaining the youthful tragedy inherent in a being that was "born" only days before.
Guillermo del Toro’s Vision for the 2025 Adaptation
To understand Elordi’s performance, one must understand the director behind the lens. Guillermo del Toro has spent decades expressing his love for Mary Shelley’s novel. For him, the Monster is not a villain, but a "fallen angel" or a "misunderstood child." Unlike the 1931 Boris Karloff version, which portrayed the creature as largely mute and cognitively limited, the 2025 version returns to the source material.
In Shelley's 1818 novel, the Creature is highly articulate, philosophical, and deeply pained by his abandonment. Del Toro’s film emphasizes this intellectual capacity. Elordi’s Monster is a creature of high intelligence that is driven to darkness only because of the cruelty of his creator and the world. This requires a performance that is both physically intimidating and intellectually resonant, a balance that has become the hallmark of the 2025 film.
The Design of the Creature
The physical appearance of Jacob Elordi’s Monster was handled by the legendary effects team at Netflix and del Toro's frequent collaborators. Eschewing the "flat-head and neck-bolts" look popularized by Universal Pictures, the 2025 design draws inspiration from medical illustrations of the early 19th century.
- Stitching and Scars: The makeup focuses on the "patchwork" nature of the body, showing visible signs of surgical trauma and varying skin tones.
- Height and Scale: Utilizing Elordi's 6'5" frame, the production used forced perspective and platform boots to make him appear nearly eight feet tall, towering over Oscar Isaac, who plays Victor Frankenstein.
- The Eyes: A key focus for del Toro was the eyes. The Creature's eyes in the 2025 film are expressive and human, designed to make the audience empathize with the being rather than fear it.
The Supporting Cast of Frankenstein 2025
While Jacob Elordi’s Creature is the emotional core, the film features an ensemble of powerhouse actors who ground the story in a dark, atmospheric version of 19th-century Europe.
| Actor | Role | Significance |
|---|---|---|
| Oscar Isaac | Victor Frankenstein | The ambitious scientist whose hubris leads to the creation of the Monster. |
| Mia Goth | Elizabeth Lavenza | Victor's love interest, who in this version plays a more proactive role in the narrative. |
| Christoph Waltz | Dr. Waldman | A mentor figure to Victor who provides a moral counterpoint to his experiments. |
| Felix Kammerer | Robert Walton | The explorer who discovers Victor in the Arctic, framing the story. |
| Lars Mikkelsen | Unknown (Supporting) | Added to the cast in early 2024 to bring gravitas to the European setting. |
| David Bradley | Unknown (Supporting) | A del Toro regular who adds to the film's "Gothic" texture. |
The chemistry between Oscar Isaac and Jacob Elordi is the central pillar of the movie. Isaac’s portrayal of Victor is less of the "mad scientist" and more of a man obsessed with the boundary between life and death, viewing Elordi's Creature as both his greatest achievement and his greatest shame.
Production and Locations
Filming for Frankenstein began in early 2024, primarily in Toronto, Ontario. Del Toro has long used Toronto as his home base for production, utilizing the city's vast studio spaces and local architecture to stand in for historical Europe. However, to capture the desolate beauty of the story’s later chapters, the production also moved to various locations in Scotland.
The Scottish Highlands provided the perfect backdrop for the "Arctic" sequences and the isolated landscapes where the Creature wanders. The use of practical locations, combined with del Toro’s signature color palettes—heavy on teals, ambers, and deep shadows—gives the 2025 film a tactile, lived-in feel that distinguishes it from the CGI-heavy blockbusters of the mid-2020s.
Comparing Elordi to Previous Monsters
To appreciate Jacob Elordi’s work in 2025, it is helpful to look back at how the role has evolved over the decades. The Monster is a "rite of passage" for character actors, and each generation has a definitive version.
Boris Karloff (1931)
Karloff’s performance is the most iconic. He established the heavy-lidded look and the stiff-legged gait. However, his version was essentially a "child in a giant’s body." Elordi’s version departs from this by giving the Creature back his voice and his capacity for complex thought.
Christopher Lee (1957)
In the Hammer Horror films, Christopher Lee played a much more violent and visceral version of the Monster. While Elordi’s version shares Lee's imposing height, the 2025 film avoids the "slasher" tropes of the Hammer era in favor of psychological drama.
Robert De Niro (1994)
Kenneth Branagh’s Mary Shelley's Frankenstein featured Robert De Niro as a more "realistic" and talkative Creature. Elordi’s performance is often compared to De Niro’s in terms of its fidelity to the book, though critics have noted that Elordi brings a certain "otherworldly" grace that De Niro lacked.
The Impact of the 2025 Film
Since its release, the 2025 Frankenstein has been hailed as a masterpiece of the Gothic genre. For Jacob Elordi, the film served as a definitive answer to critics who viewed him solely as a "leading man" type. By hiding his famous face behind layers of silicone and paint, he forced the audience to focus on his physicality and his ability to convey profound loneliness.
The film also reignited interest in Mary Shelley’s original themes. In an era increasingly concerned with Artificial Intelligence and the ethics of creation, the story of Victor Frankenstein and his "Monster" felt more relevant in 2025 than ever before. Del Toro and Elordi successfully transitioned the story from a classic horror tale into a modern parable about the responsibilities we have toward what we create.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why did Andrew Garfield leave the 2025 Frankenstein?
Andrew Garfield left the project in early 2024 due to scheduling conflicts. The 2023 Hollywood strikes (SAG-AFTRA and WGA) delayed the production of Frankenstein, and by the time filming was ready to commence, Garfield was already committed to other projects that he could not exit.
Is the 2025 Frankenstein a horror movie?
While it contains elements of horror and the supernatural, the 2025 film is more accurately described as a Gothic drama. It focuses on the psychological and philosophical relationship between the creator and the created, rather than "jump scares" or traditional horror tropes.
Where can I watch Guillermo del Toro's Frankenstein?
The film is a Netflix original production. As of 2026, it is available for streaming exclusively on the Netflix platform globally. It also had a limited theatrical run in late 2025 to qualify for awards consideration.
How tall is the monster in the 2025 version?
The Monster is portrayed as approximately eight feet tall. Actor Jacob Elordi is 6'5", and the production used a combination of platform boots, camera angles, and digital touch-ups to achieve the imposing height described in Mary Shelley's novel.
Is this movie a remake of the 1931 classic?
No. The 2025 film is a direct adaptation of Mary Shelley’s original 1818 novel. It aims to be more faithful to the source material than the 1931 Universal film, particularly regarding the Creature’s intelligence and ability to speak.
Recommendation for Further Exploration
If you have already seen the 2025 film and want to dive deeper into the world of Jacob Elordi’s portrayal and Guillermo del Toro’s craftsmanship, the best next step is to read Mary Shelley’s original novel. Understanding the philosophical arguments the Creature makes in the book will provide much more context for the choices Elordi makes in his performance. Additionally, looking for "behind-the-scenes" features on the practical effects of the 2025 production will reveal the incredible artistry required to transform a modern actor into a 19th-century marvel.
