Golden retriever inspires Frankenstein star
American actor Jacob Elordi has received high praise for his performance as the creature of Doctor Frankenstein, but has credited Layla, his golden retriever, with the success.
Simply titled “Frankenstein”, the recent adaptation of English novelist Mary Shelley’s gothic horror masterpiece comes from director Guillermo Del Toro and co-stars Oscar Isaac as the titular doctor.
Rather than review the monsters depicted in previous Hollywood films, Elordi looked closer to home, drawing inspiration from his beloved dog. While the actor has always cited Layla as his emotional compass, for his latest role she also acted as his creative muse.
At a red-carpet event for the film held at the Academy of Music in LA, the actor talked about their relationship with a representative from Vogue. He commented that most of his time is spent with Layla and added:
“She’s a great teacher in so many ways, just in her innocence, how direct she is… I don’t know, my dog is my hero.”
In another interview with Radio Times, he commented that like a young child, Layla doesn’t speak, so everything she physically does is designed to display how she feels or receive what she needs. In this respect, she operates very similar to the creature he was playing. He added that she is also exceptionally sensitive like the character, who is essentially a new-born in the world.
Elordi also shared images of himself in costume where he is completely transformed into the creature while cuddling Layla in her pet bed.
A dog owner since the early 80s, after convincing his parents to buy a Yorkshire terrier named Sadie, Darren created Dream Dogs so dog owners could find the best dog related information on the Internet.
