“I feel like his whole brand is just being hot,” said Caroline Mueller, a junior legal studies and marketing major.
The person in question is actor Jacob Elordi, who got his big break in Netflix’s “The Kissing Booth” and HBO’s “Euphoria,” and has since starred in feature films “Priscilla” and “Saltburn.”
Throughout all of these movies, it seems as though his role remains pretty consistent: he is always the pretty boy.
So when Elordi made his Saturday Night Live debut on Jan. 21, he had an opportunity to show the world that he is more than just his looks. However, his role in the skits saw him playing this same type of character.
“I would have loved to see him showcase his personality more on SNL,” Mueller said. “I feel like that’s kinda the point of SNL — for hot actors to prove that they have a personality.”
Some of the highlights of the night included “Crown Your Short King,” a skit in which Elordi’s height alone secures him a win on a show with otherwise diminutive bachelors. Another skit featured a women’s Alcoholics Anonymous group that accommodates Elordi because he’s a handsome sex addict.
In a role that was on-the-nose, Elordi played a guest celebrity visiting an acting studio, sharing with the students that he has never had to audition for a role or struggle as an actor because of his good looks.
“To be honest, I haven’t even really thought about whether he’s a good actor or not,” junior communication major Murphy Degan said. “I don’t think that that’s what I am looking out for when I’m watching his movies. I also don’t think his roles are complex enough for his talents to show through. Most of his roles are the pretty boy everyone is in love with.”
Junior biochemistry major Bella Haham thought Elordi “seemed awkward” delivering his opening monologue.
“It was probably scripted, but I mean, some of his alleged jokes were just weird. I expected him to have more substance,” Haham said. “Maybe it’s because he has to preserve his ‘pretty boy brand’ by not being funny, or maybe he’s just not funny at all.”
SNL is a prime place for actors to let their true, humorous selves shine on the big screen and prove to the world there’s more substance to them. Better yet, they can let someone else write them a hilarious script, then pretend they came up with it themselves.
But Elordi fans online seemed to be disappointed by the repeated remarks about how attractive he was.
Whether Elordi has depth beyond his appearance continues to remain a mystery, but regardless, he’s created a successful career for himself. As long as his looks continue to pay his rent, that’s all that matters.