Jacob Elordi, the popular young Australian actor best known for the ongoing HBO drama series Euphoria and the 2023 films Saltburn and Priscilla, has been tapped by the Newport Beach Film Festival to receive its Maverick Award in recognition of his latest acclaimed performance, in Guillermo del Toro’s new film Frankenstein.
The festivities, set for Thursday, Oct. 16 at the Regal Edwards Big Newport cinema, will kick off at 5:30 pm local time with a career-retrospective conversation with Elordi, moderated by yours truly, that will be recorded for subsequent airing as an episode of The Hollywood Reporter’s Awards Chatter podcast. Immediately afterwards, the 28-year-old will receive the aforementioned fest prize.
“The Newport Beach Film Festival is thrilled to honor Jacob Elordi for his remarkable performance in Frankenstein,” Gregg Schwenk, the fest’s CEO and executive director, said in a statement. “With his commanding screen presence and bold choices, Jacob has quickly become one of the most exciting actors of his generation. We are proud to celebrate his talent and the impact of his work.”
Past guests of Awards Chatter — a 10-year-old podcast that has featured more than 600 interviews — at the Newport Beach Film Festival have included Adam Sandler, Eddie Redmayne, Ewan McGregor, Peter Sarsgaard and Mark Ronson, and at the Newport Beach TV Festival have included Kate Hudson, Adam Brody and Sam Rockwell.
Another episode of the podcast, with Rian Johnson — who the fest previously announced it will honoring this year with its Director Award in recognition of his latest film, Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery — will be recorded on Friday, Oct. 17.
Other previously announced honorees include Kerry Condon (star of Netflix’s Train Dreams) for the Artist of Distinction Award; Brendan Fraser (star of Searchlight’s Rental Family) for the Icon Award; Mark Hamill (star of Neon’s The Life of Chuck) for the Icon Award; Scarlett Johansson (director of Sony Classics’ Eleanor the Great) for the Legend & Groundbreaker Award; Diane Lane (star of Lionsgate’s Anniversary) for the Icon Award; Francine Maisler (casting director of Warners’ Sinners and 20th Century’s Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere) for the Casting Visionary Award; Noah Schnapp (star of Netflix’s Stranger Things) for the Spotlight Award; Jenny Slate (star of FX’s Dying for Sex) for the Artist of Distinction; Tessa Thompson (star/producer of Amazon/MGM’s Hedda) for the Outstanding Achievement in Acting Award; and journalist Steven Gaydos for the Arts Champion Award.
The 26th edition of the festival will be held from Oct. 16-23, 2025.