Oscar Nominee Says Freak Shower Accident Left Him With Second-Degree Burns

Jacob Elordi, 28, revealed a frightening shower accident left him with second-degree burns while filming his new movie, Wuthering Heights.

The Oscar-nominated actor, who stars as Heathcliff in the new movie, and Wuthering Heights director Emerald Fennell shared the incident with Esquire UK for Elordi’s cover story.

Elordi said, “I went to clean my feet, and I leant back and my back seared into the steam knob and I stood up screaming; it tore up my back. When I went to work on Monday, I had a second-degree burn.”

The 6′5″ actor clarified that he does not usually sit on the floor to bathe, but tried something new after filming 2025’s Frankenstein.

Elordi’s role as Frankenstein’s creature, which earned him an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor, required special-effects makeup applied so heavily that the actor could not fully remove it.

“I had so much makeup in my fingers and in my feet all the time, and I left it on for the whole shoot because I couldn’t be bothered washing it all off,” the actor recalled.

He continued, “As Heathcliff [in Wuthering Heights], I was covered in mange and dirt, and I thought, ‘I’m not going to do that again, I’m going to clean my feet properly every night and come into work fresh the next day.’”

Unfortunately, Elordi’s fresh start landed him in the hospital.

Fennell recounted that when she heard the news that the star of her new film had been in an accident, her first thought was that he’d been injured in a car accident. She was relieved to learn the incident was a shower-related snafu.

“I got a text from Josey McNamara, the producer, saying, ‘Jacob’s in hospital.’...and then he was like, ‘He’s burnt his back in the shower.’ I was like, ‘You know what, Josey? Start with that,’” the director said.