Hollywood actor Jacob Elordi has claimed that Adolescence breakout star Owen Cooper was ‘intimidating’ on the set of the new Wuthering Heights adaptation.
The Australian star, 27, is taking on the iconic role of Heathcliff in Emerald Fennell’s adaptation, where he is joined by Cooper as his younger self.
Cooper shot to fame last month in the Netflix hit Adolescence, where he played the role of 13-year-old Jamie Miller – a teenager accused of the brutal murder of a female classmate.
But speaking about the ‘brilliant’ youngster, who has been dubbed the next Robert De Niro, Elordi admitted he found him ‘intimidating’.
Asked in an interview with 10 News First about working with teenage star as young Heathcliff, Elordi said: ‘He’s a rock star. He’s brilliant and he’s intimidating.’
‘I think the first time I met him I asked “Are you nervous mate” and he went “No” and I thought cool… cool me neither,’ he added. ‘But no he is a tremendous actor.’
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Hollywood actor Jacob Elordi has claimed that Adolescence breakout star Owen Cooper was ‘intimidating’ on the set of the new Wuthering Heights adaptation (Seen filming on April 1)
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Cooper shot to fame last month in the Netflix hit Adolescence, where he played the role of 13-year-old Jamie Miller – a teenager accused of the brutal murder of a female classmate
He was then asked how he found filming Wuthering Heights, to which he said: ‘It was beautiful. It was amazing. It’s a truly epic romance and Emerald Fennel is a genius.’
In Emily Bronte’s classic novel, the brooding central character of Heathcliff is described as a ‘dark-skinned gypsy’ with ‘black eyes’.
Yet exclusive pictures revealed on Sunday showed Elordi in the role for the first time – and it appears to have reimagined him in a rather different light.
There has already been controversy over the casting of heartthrob Elordi, known for his role in the darkly comic Saltburn, because critics claim he is not ‘racially ambiguous’ enough.
One of literature’s greatest male characters, Heathcliff is later described in the novel as ‘a little Lascar’, a 19th century term for an Indian sailor.
But these pictures, which show Elordi on set alongside his co-star, Barbie’s Margot Robbie, certainly appear to show him looking more rugged and swarthy than usual.
Dressed in a long black coat, gold-buttoned waistcoat and with longer hair and sideburns, the actor also revealed a hooped earring for the highly-anticipated £62million production.
When he smiled, he flashed a gold tooth.
Robbie, 34, who plays Catherine Earnshaw, or Cathy, was dressed in a voluminous black gown with black veil during filming on Tuesday for what appeared to be a funeral scene. She clutched a hot water bottle in between takes on the moorland set.
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Exclusive Mail on Sunday pictures reveal Australian actor Jacob Elordi (pictured) in the role for the first time in the new film adaptation of Wuthering Heights
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There has already been controversy over the casting of 27-year-old heartthrob Elordi, known for his role in the darkly comic Saltburn, because critics claim he is not ‘racially ambiguous’ enough
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Robbie, 34, who plays Catherine Earnshaw, or Cathy, was dressed in a voluminous black gown with black veil during filming on Tuesday for what appeared to be a funeral scene
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The star-studded line-up has led some to suggest that director Emerald Fennell relied on blind casting to choose actors for the roles
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Robbie returned to work on the project after giving birth to her first child with her British husband Tom Ackerley last year, and the couple’s production company LuckyChap is producing the film
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Owen Cooper, the young British actor who has made waves for his debut performance in Netflix’s Adolescence, is to play the teenage Heathcliff
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Robbie and her company have a long history of working with Emerald Fennell and produced both of her previous films, Saltburn and Promising Young Woman, which bagged an Oscar nomination for its star Carey Mulligan
The star-studded line-up has led some to suggest that director Emerald Fennell relied on blind casting to choose actors for the roles.
The character of Edgar Linton, a wealthy aristocrat who falls in love with and marries Cathy, is played by 36-year-old British Pakistani actor Shazad Latif, while Oscar-nominated actress Hong Chau, 45, a Vietnamese American born in Thailand, is set to appear as housekeeper Nelly Dean.
Many fans have criticised the decision to use actors who ‘look like they belong on Instagram’ rather than on a bleak Yorkshire moorland during the 1800s.
The Mail on Sunday revealed the first images of Robbie as Cathy two weeks ago after the production began filming in January.
The star returned to work on the project after giving birth to her first child with her British husband Tom Ackerley last year, and the couple’s production company, LuckyChap, is producing the film.
Robbie and her company have a long history of working with Emerald Fennell, and produced both of her previous films, Saltburn and Promising Young Woman, which bagged an Oscar nomination for its star, Carey Mulligan.
Meanwhile, Robbie and Elordi have also worked together before – on Saltburn, and also to appear in a new short film, See You at 5, for the new Chanel No.5 campaign.
She recently gushed about him in an interview with Harper’s Bazaar, calling him ‘wonderful’.
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Many fans have criticised the decision to use actors who ‘look like they belong on Instagram’ rather than on a bleak Yorkshire moorland during the 1800s.
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View gallery
Dressed in a long black coat, gold-buttoned waistcoat and with longer hair and sideburns, the actor also revealed a hooped earring for the highly-anticipated £62million production
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View gallery
The character of Edgar Linton, a wealthy aristocrat who falls in love with and marries Cathy, is played by 36-year-old British Pakistani actor Shazad Latif, while Oscar-nominated actress Hong Chau, 45, an American born in Thailand, is set to appear as housekeeper Nelly Dean
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Robbie and Elordi have also worked together before – on Saltburn, and also to appear in a new short film, See You at 5, for the new Chanel No.5 campaign
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View gallery
The tortured Heathcliff is one of literature’s most complex anti-heroes, and has previously been played in other screen adaptations by Tom Hardy, Ralph Fiennes, and Sir Lawrence Olivier
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The original story of Wuthering Heights centres around the upper middle-class Earnshaw family and their turbulent relationship with Heathcliff, an orphaned boy they take in
‘So I haven’t shared the screen with him before, but I know I’ve seen him on set, I’ve been around him on set, and he’s just – he’s got an incredible presence,’ she said.
Wuthering Heights, published in 1847, is considered a masterpiece.
The original story centres around the upper middle-class Earnshaw family and their turbulent relationship with Heathcliff, an orphaned boy they take in.
The tortured Heathcliff is one of literature’s most complex anti-heroes, and has previously been played in other screen adaptations by Tom Hardy, Ralph Fiennes, and Sir Lawrence Olivier.
Owen Cooper, the young British actor who has made waves for his debut performance in Netflix’s Adolescence, is to play the teenage Heathcliff.
