Prior to the release of the first “The Kissing Booth,” Jacob Elordi was essentially unknown in Hollywood. Even more, he had to be in South Africa to film the Netflix romcom, meaning fewer opportunities to audition for roles in Los Angeles. When filming wrapped on “The Kissing Booth,” Elordi returned to California nearly broke. In fact, the actor admitted that some nights, he would park on the iconic Mulholland Drive and sleep in his car. “I think I had — I don’t know, $400 or $800 left in my bank account,” he admitted to GQ. “I had no money, I didn’t have anything, I was practically homeless in LA,” the actor recalled to Wonderland. He continued to miss out on landing roles and after his lack of success, Elordi thought it might be best to return home to Australia, reset, and make some money. Before flying back across the world, he took one last audition — for “Euphoria.”
After landing the role in “Euphoria,” Elordi still didn’t come into a windfall of money. While filming the pilot episode, Elordi was still essentially living out of his car, which he remembered “was like a hoarder’s, stacked with boxes and coat hangers and things.” One of the show’s producers noticed the future star’s state of affairs and immediately booked him a room at a nice hotel in West Hollywood. About the experience, he said, “I got really lucky, which is just an LA story, you know?”
