The Wuthering Heights Shoot That Sent Jacob Elordi to the Hospital

Jacob Elordi has one of those stories that starts as a method-leaning joke and ends with a hospital wristband. While shooting Emerald Fennell's Wuthering Heights with Margot Robbie, the Euphoria star scorched his back in a steam shower badly enough to need medical attention. The wild part is how it happened and why he was even taking that kind of shower in the first place.

The joke that got out of hand

On set, BAFTA-nominated hair and makeup designer Siân Miller was mapping out Heathcliff's whip scars for Elordi when she teased him: basically, if Daniel Day-Lewis were playing the role, he'd probably show up with real scars. Elordi volleyed back that he'd go and "maim" himself over the weekend to prove he was Heathcliff. Everyone laughed. Then real life said: bet.

The Frankenstein carryover

Elordi had just come off Guillermo del Toro's Frankenstein, where he spent a ton of time under heavy makeup. That job gave him a meticulous end-of-day routine: steam, scrub, and clean everything properly. Cut to Wuthering Heights, which he described as wading through "mange and dirt" daily on location. (Yes, he said "mange." Colorful choice.) So he kept up the steam-shower clean-down.

The burn

During one of those showers, he leaned back and pressed his bare back against the scalding steam knob. Immediate pain, screaming, the works. The result: a second-degree burn running across his back, and a hospital trip. He still showed up to work on Monday with the injury, because of course he did.

How the director found out

Emerald Fennell heard about the incident through a producer and initially feared the worst — as in, full-on car-accident worst. When she asked Elordi if this was all because of the Daniel Day-Lewis dare, he gave her the only answer you can give in that moment:

It was actual Daniel Day-Lewis. In the shower.

Quick recap

• Elordi plays Heathcliff in Emerald Fennell's Wuthering Heights, based on Emily Brontë's 1847 novel and co-starring Margot Robbie.
• During scar makeup tests, hair/makeup designer Siân Miller joked about Day-Lewis-level commitment; Elordi joked back he'd "maim" himself.
• Fresh off Guillermo del Toro's Frankenstein, Elordi kept a rigorous steam-shower routine to scrub off the grime he called "mange and dirt" from set.
• He accidentally leaned into the steam knob, suffered a second-degree burn, went to the hospital, and returned to set on Monday.
• Fennell learned via a producer and briefly thought he'd been in a car crash; Elordi deadpanned the Day-Lewis line above.
• Wuthering Heights is set to hit theaters on February 13, 2026.