Jacob Elordi Says Heath Ledger’s Role in 'The Dark Knight' Inspired His Acting Career

Jacob Elordi has discussed how seeing Heath Ledger in The Dark Knight motivated him to pursue acting. The comments were made during his appearance with Gwyneth Paltrow on Variety’s Actors on Actors, where the pair spoke in depth about their professional backgrounds and early influences.

In the conversation, Paltrow asked Elordi who first made him believe a career in Hollywood was achievable. Elordi explained that he had always been expressive while growing up.

He said, “I was quite loud as a kid, which is every actors’ thing. They didn’t know what to do with me.”

He recalled how a schoolteacher, Mrs McMahon, gave him his first experience on stage by casting him as the cat in a production of The Cat in the Hat. As he described performing in the musical, Paltrow commented, “You nailed it.” Elordi added, “I was singing and dancing, I had the big hat on, and I knew that that was what I wanted to do.”

Elordi then reflected on how Australian representation in major films shaped his ambitions. He said his admiration for Ledger developed from watching him in productions such as A Knight’s Tale before seeing him portray the Joker in The Dark Knight. “I saw Heath Ledger in The Dark Knight,” he said.

“And I knew him from Knight’s Tale and all these things that I had grown up watching. And I think that when I was about 12, I realized he was from Australia.” Elordi explained that this recognition made him consider acting as a realistic path.

He said, “Then the cog started turning that this could be a viable thing for me to do. And it was something that I could do. And from that point it just became an obsession.”