Men Taking over the internet: Jacob Elordi
Have you heard of Jacob Elordi? Have you seen that Jacob Elordi edit? Did you catch Jacob Elordi on TV last night?
You may have heard these questions thrown at you over and over in the past few weeks, or even months, but after being seemingly interrogated about him, you may now have some questions of your own. Who even is this new heartthrob sweeping the youth? What is an edit, and why is everyone talking about it? Why is he popular in the first place, and haven’t I seen him somewhere?
Yes, you have.
Jacob Elordi is a 26 year old Australian actor made famous not only by his roles in well-liked television and movies, but also by his striking good looks and on-screen charm. His fame journey began in 2018, when the movie The Kissing Booth was released, starring Joey King, co-starring Jacob Elordi as her love interest. His character, Noah, was a charming, attractive young man in high school, the main audience demographic for the movie at the time. Though heavily criticized by many, the movie was a hit in memorability, making it no surprise when his popularity spiked again the following year. In 2019, Euphoria, a high-school drama show, debuted, featuring Jacob Elordi as Nate Jacobs. As a much more misogynistic, shocking, and thus memorable character, Nate is one of his most well-known roles. Nowadays, he’s seen yet another spike in popularity after his role as Elvis in Sophia Coppola’s Priscilla, and most famously, his role as Felix Catton in Emerald Fennell’s Saltburn.
The answer as to why he looks so familiar could also be attributed to his domination over fan-created media, on platforms such as Instagram, YouTube, and most importantly, TikTok. If you have the app, you’ve most likely heard the term “That Jacob Elordi edit”. One of the most popular edits circulating TikTok, “that” Jacob Elordi edit, features Elordi as Felix from Saltburn to the song Never Be Like You by Flume (feat. kai). Between the popularity of Saltburn itself, and the edit having a strong grip on the internet, Elordi gained massive traction almost instantly, making his face and name recognizable even to people who’d not yet seen the movie or even heard of him at all.
After Receiving the opportunity to host an episode of SNL and even being invited to The Tonight Show, we see that there lies a bright future for Elordi. Like many male celebrities, in a matter of 3 to 6 months, his fame will have died down immensely if not completely. Stars made famous by videos like edits or short clips die out quickly, as the backbone of their fame is fickle and forgotten easily within the fast tempo of TikTok’s content culture. Pedro Pascal, Tom and Bill Kaulitz, and Josh Hutcherson are all examples of male stars who went viral, yet saw a drastic drop in popularity after the main factor of their virality dissolved. If no new content is being made to keep them relevant, they will disappear- as will Elordi. That is, unless he is involved with something new.
New material like interviews, new movies and shows, and even new memes, edits, and internet content in general can help keep Elordi afloat amidst the sea of the internet. If he announces any upcoming movies, then we can most likely expect to see him again. If not, he can be considered headed towards the same path as his predecessors in the TikTok heartthrob genre.