- Jacob Elordi stars as Heathcliff in the new Wuthering Heights adaptation
- But the actor says he was ‘intimidated’ by his 15-year-old co-star, Owen Cooper
- Cooper is the breakout star of the Netflix hit, Adolescence
Wuthering Heights star Jacob Elordi is one of Hollywood’s most in-demand actors – so it’s surprising to learn that he was recently “intimidated” by a 15-year-old.
The actor, 27, plays Byronic hero Heathcliff in the new adaptation, which will hit theaters in February 2026.
Based on the 1847 novel by Emily Brontë, fans of the book will know that it will also feature Heathcliff as a boy.
Owen Cooper, the breakout star of Netflix’s Adolescence, has been cast as young Heathcliff – and now Elordi has opened up about meeting the youngster.
Asked in an interview about working with the teenager, Elordi admitted, “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.’”
Elordi added, “But no, he is a tremendous actor.”
The Euphoria star also spoke about his experience on working on the film, and went on, “It was beautiful. It was amazing. It’s a truly epic romance and Emerald Fennell is a genius.”
Wuthering Heights received backlash over Jacob Elordi casting
While Elordi clearly enjoyed his experience of shooting the adaptation, fans were disappointed to see him cast as Heathcliff – because of his skin color.
Fans of the novel will know that Heathcliff is described as a “dark-skinned gypsy” – whereas the Euphoria actor is obviously white.
“Emily Bronte describing Heathcliff: ‘dark-skinned gipsy, ‘a little Lascar’, ‘as dark almost as if it came from the devil.’ Hollywood casting director: So basically a white man with a tan then?,” noted one fan.
Another said, “Just a not so friendly reminder: Heathcliff in Wuthering Heights is explicitly dark skin and Romani, and his experiences as a man of color influence his entire character and story as a man suffering racist abuse from his adoptive family.”
But while the character is also referred to at times as “pale” and possibly “Spanish”, the Brontë museum itself has also weighed in on the race row, and suggested that Heathcliff may have been a man of “black African descent”.
Information on its website suggests Heathcliff may have been inspired by a black abolitionist and former slave.
It states that while the character’s ethnicity remains a mystery, there are clues “linking him to the transatlantic slave trade”.
Wuthering Heights fans outraged by fashion faux pas
— • (@mediafilmcrave) April 13, 2025
The controversy surrounding Heathcliff’s ethnicity isn’t the only faux pas that the movie has made.
In photos which circulated on social media, Margot Robbie, who plays Catherine Earnshaw in the film, was seen to be shooting a funeral scene – in an off-shoulder, black dress.
Slamming the costume as “diabolical” others questioned whether the adaptation was working with “a historical consultant”.
“SHOULDERS OUT??? IN THE 1800s???? WHOSE IDEA WAS THAT???,” wrote one. Another added, “How do I report crimes against classic literature?”
