Jacob Elordi carries himself with a quiet intensity. He’s soft spoken and more of an introvert than the world realizes, given his global stardom post Euphoria, Priscilla, and Saltburn. He finds solace in the text of literature and poetry just as much as he finds comfort in cinema. He’s often deep in thought, as if he’s reflecting the choices he makes so discerningly. Elordi says that his favourite poem — Philip Larkin’s “Home is So Sad” — makes him feel alive. He brings this same mystery to his latest on-screen character.
His recent project, an Australian Amazon Original series titled The Narrow Road to the Deep North, demanded much from the actor. He offers a confident swagger and an intellectual curiosity to the role of Dorrigo Evans, painting a vivid and visceral portrait of a man etched by both love and unimaginable hardship. His performance feels like a layered tapestry of raw emotion and quiet resilience, one that lingers in the mind long after initial viewing.
I’m seated for the press junket at the Park Hyatt in Sydney, Australia where Elordi, Simon Baker, and Thomas Weatherall are grouped together while the female leads Odessa Young and Olivia DeJonge are in the room next door. I had spoken with the cast at the red carpet premiere the evening before.
The Narrow Road to the Deep North is a five-part series directed by Justin Kurzel and written by Shaun Grant. It’s based on Richard Flanagan’s Booker Prize-winning novel of the same name. Deep North follows the life of Dorrigo Evans, charting the poignant love story between him and Amy (Odessa Young) during World War II, while also depicting his capture by the Japanese and the horrific conditions he endured as a prisoner of war on the Thailand-Burma Railway. The narrative shifts between his past and the present, showing the profound impact of war, loss, and love.
Through weary eyes and a sharp jawline, Elordi demonstrates fleeting expressions of Dorrigo’s pain and yearning; a silent longing for Amy underscores his will to survive during the war. Subtlety and nuance are key to his portrayal of Evans.
For the 27-year-old actor, working with Tasmanian director Kurzel was a dream. “I think just the way that Justin makes movies is so immersive and he’s sort of actor-forward when he directs, he’s super intimate and as real as he could possibly be at all times,” he said in the interview.
“We all kept each other accountable, but also exhibited a great amount of care and love for each other. We were training together, living together, and shooting together.”
Thomas Weatherall on filming “The Narrow Road to the Deep North.”
Elordi was familiar with Kurzel’s work — that’s what drew him to come back home and make a series with the famous homegrown director after achieving global success. “Every time I see it, I look at it or think about it, I’m just filled with a great sense of pride for what we achieved. I’m really, really proud of it,” he said.
The actor was on set in the sleepy city of Canberra to film the finale of the series. Isabella Elordi, his sister and photographer (whom he deeply admires), photographed him in a series of behind-the-scenes shots that captures an essence of the star’s quiet confidence and eccentric charm.
“It’s a combination of great artists’ work — and I do believe that it is the best of the best that we have to offer — and it’s an incredibly Australian story about mateship and love.”
Jacob Elordi on “The Narrow Road to the Deep North.”
Baker echoed this sense of pride in making the series and working with Kurzel. “Every time I do a job, I always expect there’s something new… It’s not necessarily even about learning something, but you unlock something in yourself, or you free yourself, of some sort of thing that you maybe held onto,” Baker said. “We all got to experience working with our director, Justin, and his approach, which does make you feel safe. I guess it was different, but I feel like once you feel safe and that you’re in good hands, you then really wanna throw yourself more into [the series] and take a few more risks. You’re not afraid of doing something wrong, so to speak. With Justin, there is no ‘wrong’ in the way he approaches it.”
Weatherall, who plays Frank, brought levity to the scenes with his sense of humour. His performance is characterized by a striking emotional honesty, a willingness to lay bare Frank’s vulnerabilities. “Justin and the team did a great job in finding the boys that made up that core cast. You needed each actor to sort of commit and buy into it as much as the other. We all kept each other accountable, but also exhibited a great amount of care and love for each other. We were training together, living together, and shooting together. I mean, the bond becomes pretty tight pretty quickly. It was a very special training,” he said.
The series is a tapestry of Aussie culture — a point of pride for Elordi and the Australian cast. “For me, I think it’s the top of the line of great Australian artists. It’s a combination of great artists’ work — and I do believe that it is the best of the best that we have to offer — and it’s an incredibly Australian story about mateship and love. It shows our country beautifully, and I think the way that we are at our core,” Elordi said.
Baker added, “I think what’s interesting – I was talking to your [Jacob’s] mom about this earlier, shout out to Melissa – about the fact that we’re an English speaking country, predominantly. There’s an assumption a lot of the time, like when you live in Los Angeles with a lot of Americans, there’s an assumption that culturally we’re similar, and we really aren’t. There’s a vast difference there. We live in a country that has one of the oldest lasting cultures in existence intact. It’s a culture that has an oral history of storytelling. I think, through osmosis, we have developed and built our culture in some ways around that. Our culture is different, and we kind of tend to neglect the subtleties and the nuances of what our culture is. I think this show does in a great way depict that essence of resilience and positivity through adversity,” he said.
“[Ella and Amy are] both strong and forthright and have a strong inner compass that they follow… In a very traditional story, they are very non-traditional relationships.””
Olivia DeJonge on the role of women in “The Narrow Road to the Deep North”
“I think it’s important, ultimately, to tell the stories that represent the evolution of our country and our culture, both good and bad, to show it all. I think it’s very important for our own personal identity,” Baker continued. DeJonge agreed, adding, “I think the acting community in Australia is quite rich.”
The show also does well by giving the women a narrative beyond the “waiting wife,” as is often depicted in such stories. “What I love about both Ella and Amy is that they both have a very complex relationship with Dorrigo and neither of these relationships are conventional,” said Young. “I think women are empowered in those relationships to make really complex choices about what love means to them, what it should feel like, and what staying together means…”
DeJonge added, “What was interesting between the two women is the dichotomy. They’re both strong and forthright and have a strong inner compass that they follow… In a very traditional story, they are very non-traditional relationships.”
Kurzel knows that the love story is at the core of the series and, in many ways, is the lifeline for these characters. “The residue of that love story [with Amy] grows and evolves and becomes a sanctuary for Dorrigo throughout the trauma of war. It was a relationship and a perspective and a kind of idea of how memory can play in a person’s life that I found really beautiful and unique,” he said.
The Narrow Road to the Deep North is now streaming on Prime Video.
Feature photo by Isabella Elordi.
