2017–2022: early work and breakthrough Elordi's first experience on a Hollywood film set was in 2017's
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales as an extra, His first acting role was on the Australian film
Swinging Safari in 2018, playing the role of Rooster. Elordi co-starred opposite
Joey King in the Netflix romantic comedy film
The Kissing Booth, which premiered in May 2018, as Noah Flynn, a "
bad-boy jock" and the film's primary love interest. Despite largely negative critical reception, the film became one of Netflix's most-watched titles in 2018 and brought Elordi to widespread fame. Elordi reprised the role in the sequels
The Kissing Booth 2, which filmed in mid-2019 in Cape Town, South Africa, and was released in July 2020; and
The Kissing Booth 3, which was released on Netflix in August 2021. In a 2023 interview for
GQ, he stated that he had not wanted to make them, calling them "ridiculous" and stating that he did them to "do whatever the fuck [he had] to do" to become an actor in the United States. After filming was completed for the first
Kissing Booth film, Elordi moved to Los Angeles. He helped a friend of his film an audition for a role in
Sam Levinson's HBO drama series
Euphoria, a remake of
the Israeli series of the same name. While occasionally sleeping in his car and
couch surfing at friends' houses with little money left and his visa expiring soon, he auditioned for
Euphoria himself, with plans for it to be his last audition before moving back home. Elordi described the character as "a narcissist" and "a sociopath", while Clay Skipper of
British GQ referred to the character as an
antihero. During this time Elordi also appeared in the 2019 horror
anthology film The Mortuary Collection. Elordi then starred in Lance Hool's 2020 romantic drama film
2 Hearts as Chris Gregory, a college student and the film's narrator.
Entertainment Weeklys Maureen Lee Lenker wrote that his performance in the film was "ham-fistedly goofy" while
Owen Gleiberman of
Variety opined that Elordi was "done no favors by being in"
2 Hearts. He appeared later that year as the son of the title character in the Australian comedy film
The Very Excellent Mr. Dundee. In 2022, he appeared as Charlie, a piano teacher, in
Adrian Lyne's erotic thriller
Deep Water.
2023–present: critical acclaim and stardom |309x309px In the first half of 2023, Elordi appeared as Ian, a British film actor, in
Sean Price Williams' drama film
The Sweet East, which premiered at the
76th Cannes Film Festival. Williams based Elordi's character in the film on
Robert Pattinson following his role in
The Twilight Saga. The film received negative reviews from critics, with
Glenn Kenny of
The New York Times writing in a review, "Elordi's performance here lacks the discipline he applied to his work in
Priscilla and even the wretched
Saltburn." In late 2023 Elordi portrayed
Elvis Presley in the
Sofia Coppola–directed
Priscilla Presley biopic
Priscilla opposite
Cailee Spaeny in the titular role. Coppola chose Elordi to play the role partially because of his "effect on women" during their first meeting, which she found comparable to Elvis's.
Priscilla premiered at the
80th Venice International Film Festival, where it was met with positive reception. Gabriella Ferlita of
PinkNews stated that Elordi "achieved countless words of praise for his rendition of The King" from critics. His performance was often compared by critics to that of
Austin Butler in
Elvis (2022).
Richard Lawson of
Vanity Fair wrote that Elordi "carefully calibrates Elvis's appeal and his pill-addled, domineering presence, his exacting demands and storms of frightening anger [in] a more enlightening take on the man than the one seen in
Elvis". Critics from
Empire,
The Detroit News, and the
Chicago Sun-Times described it as a star-making role for Elordi, while Nicholas Barber of
BBC News described him in the film as "a revelation" and Marshall Shaffer of
Slant wrote that his performance was "the secret weapon of
Saltburn". For the role, he earned a nomination for the
BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role. In 2024 Elordi hosted an episode of
Saturday Night Live. Elordi starred in
Oh, Canada, a drama film directed by
Paul Schrader, in which he played the younger version of
Richard Gere's character, an aging documentary filmmaker reminiscing on his life. His second film role that year was in
On Swift Horses, a period drama about LGBTQ relationships, in which he starred as Julius, a gambler who falls in love with another man in 1950s Las Vegas. He received acclaim for his work in the film from critics, including Robert Daniels of
Screen Daily, who described it as "an electrifying performance", and Jourdain Searles of
The Hollywood Reporter, who said that "Elordi gives his best performance yet as Julius, showing his more sensitive, vulnerable side on the big screen for perhaps the first time." In 2025, Elordi played the lead role of Dorrigo Evans in
a miniseries adaptation of the novel
The Narrow Road to the Deep North. He next played the Creature (also known as
Frankenstein's monster) in the Netflix horror film
Frankenstein, directed by
Guillermo del Toro. The film had its world premiere at the
82nd Venice International Film Festival and was released on 24 October 2025.
RogerEbert.com considered his performance as Frankenstein's creation "marvelous in conveying the monster's intelligence, sensitivity, and inherent gentleness", while the
Washington Post called it "transformative". Both of these roles earned him nominations at the
83rd Golden Globe Awards, for
Best Actor in a Miniseries or Television Film and
Best Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture. On portraying the character depicted as a person-of-color in the book, Elordi reasoned: "This is Emerald's interpretation of the text, and Emerald is an artist that I respect and admire, and I think her work is really important, so the only thing I think of is how can I serve the truth of my director? And how can I serve the truth of the screenplay that I have been handed?" Elordi will next star in Ridley Scott's science fiction film
The Dog Stars, which is scheduled to be released on 28 August 2026. ==Public image==