Jacob Elordi has revealed that his northern accent for Wuthering Heights came from an unexpectedly ordinary place, the bath.
The Brisbane-born actor, who stars as Heathcliff in Emerald Fennell’s new adaptation of Emily Brontë’s classic, said he perfected the accent through relentless repetition at home.
“I just practice in the bath, over and over and over and over,” Elordi explained, giving an insight into his routine.
He added that he became particularly fond of local pronunciation quirks, saying: “I like Meks and teks, instead of take. I like MEK, TEK,” spelled it out carefully.
Elordi, 28, stars opposite Margot Robbie’s Catherine in the film, which is set on the windswept Yorkshire moors and has already generated buzz and some controversy ahead of its release.
Casting choices and the film’s darker, more provocative elements have sparked debate online, but that hasn’t dampened anticipation.
At the London premiere on Thursday night, large crowds gathered in the rain to catch a glimpse of the two Australian stars as excitement around the project continues to build.
The shooting itself was not without incident.
Elordi suffered second-degree burns during filming and was briefly hospitalized after a shower accident.
He later explained that while scrubbing his feet in a steam bath, he leaned back and burned his back against the steam button.
The injury came after long, physically demanding days on the moors, where he had rolled in dirt to fully live in Heathcliff’s raw intensity.
Principal Emerald Fennell admitted she was initially concerned when she heard Elordi had been rushed to hospital for fear of something far more serious.
However, Elordi later joked about the mishap, comparing it to extreme method acting and talking about feeling a “spiritual” connection when he first arrived on the dramatic filming locations.
Wuthering Heightsstarring Elordi and Robbie, is slated to hit theaters on February 13, with audiences eager to see how this bold reimagining of the literary classic translates to the big screen.
