Jacob Elordi is now an Oscar nominee, but before he found fame, he was cast alongside Johnny Depp in Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales.

Granted, it wasn’t a big role. In fact, it was an uncredited small role in which he was an extra portraying a Saint Martin’s Marine.

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales was Jacob’s first brush with Hollywood, and he filmed the movie when he was just 17 in 2017, the same year he moved from Brisbane, Australia, to LA to pursue acting.

His character appears very briefly when Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) and Carina Smyth (Kaya Scodelario) are supposed to be executed. Spoiler alert: Jack escapes when Henry Turner (Brenton Thwaites) creates a diversion.

While fans were thrilled to discover Jacob’s role in the movie, he previously made it very clear that he was just “in the background.”

“You know, this is something that I’ve wanted to clear up for years,” he said during GQ’s Actually Me when he replied to real comments from fans.

jacob elordi in red coat in pirates of the caribbean dead men tell no tales © Pirates Wikia
Jacob was an extra playing a Saint Martin’s Marine

“People are always trying to find me in the movie, and there’s screenshots of me in the movie, no. I was in the background of the movie,” he stated.

“I wasn’t in the movie, I wasn’t credited, I wasn’t billed. I didn’t audition. I was an extra,” he added. “And it was one of the best things I’ve ever done in my entire life. And you’ll never find me.”

He later seemed to have a change of heart, sort of, as he advised fans who couldn’t spot him in the film: “Look for a tall guy in a red coat.”

jacob elordi and joey king in the kissing booth© Netflix
Jacob found huge success playing Noah Flynn in The Kissing Booth

Following his ‘role’ in Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales, Jacob found huge success playing teen heartthrob, Noah Flynn, in the hit Netflix movie franchise The Kissing Booth from 2018 to 2021.

He has since carved out a reputation for taking on bold, contrasting roles, from the toxic high-school love interest in HBO’s Euphoria to delivering a chilling performance as Elvis Presley in Sofia Coppola’s 2023 biographical drama Priscilla.

LONDON, ENGLAND - FEBRUARY 05: Jacob Elordi attends the UK Premiere of "Wuthering Heights" at Odeon Luxe Leicester Square on February 5, 2026 in London, England. (Photo by Dave Benett/WireImage)© WireImage
Jacob has gone on to star in several big movies

His turn as English student Felix Catton in Emerald Fennell‘s Saltburn earned him a 2024 BAFTA Rising Star Award nomination and a BAFTA nomination for Best Supporting Actor.

His turn as the Creature in Guillermo del Toro’s 2025 film, Frankenstein, earned him several accolades during the 2026 Awards season, including a Best Supporting Actor win at the AACTA Awards, an Academy Awards and an Actor Awards nomination in the same category.

Wuthering Heights (2026) directed by Emerald Fennell and starring Margot Robbie, Jacob Elordi and Hong Chau.© Alamy Stock Photo
Jacob stars in Wuthering Heights alongside Margot Robbie

Jacob also created a buzz starring as anti-hero Heathcliff in Emerald Fennell’s 2026 adaptation of Emily Brontë’s 1847 novel, Wuthering Heights, alongside Margot Robbie as Catherine Earnshaw.