Berlin – Jacob Elordi, fresh from roles in “Priscilla” and “Saltburn,” is poised for another prominent year. With upcoming appearances in Guillermo del Toro’s “Frankenstein” and Emerald fennell’s “wuthering Heights,” Elordi recently discussed his latest project: “The Narrow Road to the Deep North.” This television series, an adaptation of Richard flanagan’s Man-booker Prize-winning novel, is directed by fellow Tasmanian Justin Kurzel.

A Tasmanian Collaboration

The series, already available on Prime Video in Australia, the U.S., Canada, and New Zealand, and set to premiere on Sky and WOW in Germany this summer, is a deeply personal project for both Kurzel and Flanagan. The director recounts that the idea for the adaptation originated during a casual barbeque in Tasmania, their shared home.

The Story Unfolds

“The Narrow Road to the Deep North” intricately weaves together three timelines—pre-war, wartime, and post-war—and perspectives. At the heart of the narrative is Dorrigo Evans, a medical officer portrayed by Elordi, enduring the brutal conditions of a Japanese prisoner of war camp on the Thai-Burma railway during World War II.

Love Amidst the horrors of War

While the series unflinchingly depicts the courage and horrors of war, a profound love story anchors the narrative. Dorrigo, though married, is haunted and sustained by memories of his affair with his uncle’s wife, Amy, played by Odessa Young. This forbidden love becomes his solace and torment.

The absolute spirit of the whole series.
Justin Kurzel on the importance of the love story.

Elordi’s Initial Hesitations

Elordi initially felt apprehensive about portraying the romance, fearing it would overshadow the war elements that drew him to the project. I was worried that it would kind of overtake the elements of the novel that kind of interested me, which was the war parts, Elordi admits.

A Change of Heart

Though,Kurzel’s direction and approach to those scenes led to a critically important shift in Elordi’s perspective. He allowed us this space for it to be incredibly raw and real and gentle and it ended up becoming my sort of favorite part of the filmmaking process because we shot it in halves, Elordi explains.

Kurzel, who admits he had never directed a love story before, approached the romantic scenes with caution and curiosity. He was extremely careful and cautious and fiercely curious about what that would be with Jacob and odessa.

Informing the Performance

Shooting the love story first allowed Elordi to better shape his portrayal of the haunted Dorrigo during the POW camp scenes. Being able to have those memories while we were shooting the camps, of shooting with Dess (Odessa Young) and Olivia (DeJonge), was a core part of the performance, which goes back to Richard’s book. The two just inform each other, like it’s a whole life, he says.

Casting and Dedication

Kurzel knew immediately that Elordi was right for the role. However, portraying the soldiers required immense dedication, including dramatic weight loss. Kurzel noted the powerful impact of the actors’ commitment on set: The crew looking at them coming on set … there’s a ‘Wow, we’d better be on today because we can see kind of what these boys have done for it.’ So that was really, really powerful.

This dedication allowed Kurzel to shoot the brutal scenes with authenticity. These boys are incredible, but they’re incredibly tired. They’re kind of wasted away, you know, the level of sort of focus, you can’t have it for the whole day. So you’ve got to be really kind of precise about that.

A Collective Effort

Elordi emphasizes that the six-week weight loss journey was a collective effort, involving even the background actors. seeing that many, especially young people put that effort into something. It was genuinely amazing to see that when we came back from that break, it was like, oh, my God, he recalls.

Past and Future

This series marks the second time Elordi has shared a role with an older actor.He previously played a young Richard Gere in Paul Schrader’s “Oh,Canada.” In “The narrow Road to the Deep north,” Ciarán Hinds portrays Dorrigo in his later years, reflecting on his wartime experiences.

When asked who he would like to see play an older version of himself next, Elordi jokingly suggested Meryl Streep.

staying Grounded

Despite his rising fame,Elordi remains grounded. I get to make movies a lot, and that is my dream so I am probably the luckiest man alive, he concludes.