Jacob Elordi is set for another eventful year, with upcoming roles in Guillermo del Toro’s highly anticipated “Frankenstein” and his current work on Emerald Fennell’s “Wuthering Heights.” During a recent Berlin interview, Elordi, sporting wild, curly Heathcliff hair and sideburns, discussed his TV series “The Narrow Road to the Deep North.”
Directed by fellow Australian Justin Kurzel, the series adapts Richard Flanagan’s Man-Booker prize-winning novel. The story follows Dorrigo Evans, a medical officer portrayed by Elordi, who was forced into labor on the Thai-Burma railway within a Japanese POW camp during World War II.
Kurzel and Flanagan share a Tasmanian connection, and the idea for the TV series emerged from a casual chat at a barbeque back home, Kurzel humorously recalls. The series is now available on Prime Video in Australia, the U.S., Canada, and New Zealand, with a German release on Sky and WOW anticipated this summer.
“The Narrow Road to the Deep North” explores three timelines—pre-, during, and post-war—gradually merging the different perspectives as the narrative unfolds. Despite the focus on war’s courage and horrors, a poignant love story remains central. Throughout his ordeal, Dorrigo is haunted and comforted by memories of a passionate affair with his uncle’s wife Amy, his true love, played by Odessa Young.
Kurzel describes the romance as the series’ “absolute spirit,” though Elordi initially feared it might overshadow the aspects of the war that intrigued him from the novel. However, Kurzel’s method of capturing these raw and genuine moments altered Elordi’s perspective, eventually becoming his favorite part of the filmmaking process.
Kurzel, new to directing a love story, approached it with exceptional carefulness and curiosity, particularly in exploring dynamics with Jacob and Odessa. Filming the love story first helped Elordi shape his portrayal of Dorrigo, enhancing the Japanese POW scenes.
Casting Elordi was straightforward for Kurzel, who recognized his fit for the role immediately. However, the portrayal required exceptional dedication and focus from all actors playing POWs, necessitating significant weight loss to convey the characters authentically. The commitment was palpable, motivating the entire crew to bring their best.
Elordi shared that achieving the physical transformation was a collective six-week journey, involving both lead and background actors, which was genuinely impressive. This dedication allowed Kurzel to present brutally realistic scenes, although maintaining such focus during filming was challenging.
For Elordi, this marks another project where he co-stars with an older version of his character, with Irish actor Ciarán Hinds depicting Dorrigo’s later years. When asked about future casting, Elordi jokingly suggested Meryl Streep. As his fame rises, Elordi remains unfazed, thrilled just to achieve his dream of consistently making movies, deeming himself incredibly lucky.
This account initially emerged on March 27 and received an update on April 18 to confirm the series’ release in the aforementioned countries.