The iPhone Face Epidemic

 The iPhone Face Epidemic: Can Modern Faces Represent Those of the Past?

By: Annabel Lepore

We’ve all heard the news by now: Saltburn director Emerald Fennell is adapting a new version of Emily Bronte’s classic Wuthering Heights. And we’ve also all seen the controversies surrounding the film’s casting choices: 37 year old Margot Robbie as 18 year old Catherine Earnshaw and 27 year old Jacob Elordi as 37 year old Heathcliff, which has gathered criticism for several reasons. Elordi’s casting has been slated the most, with Heathcliff being described in the book as darker skinned and of Romani origin, as well as Elordi being well over 6 foot tall, when in reality men in the 1800’s were rarely over 5 foot 7. However, most of all, both leads have been repeatedly described as having an ‘IPhone face’, and therefore have been deemed unfit to be in a period drama, with people deeming other actors such as Elle Fanning and Dev Patel as better for the roles.

But what exactly defines what an ‘IPhone face’ is, and who has one? After a quick Google search, the first definition that comes up for the term is ‘an actor in a historical film that looks out of place due to their physical appearance’. This is a fairly recent debate within pop culture, the idea of someone in a period drama looking like they know what an IPhone is, but it has caused many actors to come under scrutiny for their physical appearance and therefore compatibility for the role. Many actors have been named as having this issue with their appearance, such as Lily Rose Depp, Timothee Chalamet and Florence Pugh among so many more, whereas people such as Dominic Sessa in The Holdovers and Bella Ramsey, who are deemed as less conventionally attractive, have been praised for having so called ‘historical faces’.

It’s not that you have to be considered somewhat unattractive to suit historical TV or film; but evidence suggests that it definitely helps. Firstly, there is the issue of historical accuracy. Modern day society has far greater access to physical enhancers of beauty and attractiveness, for example makeup, plastic surgery, or certain hairstyles, compared to in the past. So when we try to place actors in period dramas with said physical enhancers, they appear out of place and even too ‘perfect’.

In my opinion, I think one of the greatest defining features of whether an actor suffers from ‘IPhone face’ is their teeth. The rise of celebrities getting veneers in the last ten years or so has been astronomical, and this presents difficulties when it comes to any film or TV show that is set over 20 or so years ago because, to put it simply, no one’s teeth looked like that until recently. One of the first instances of this that comes to mind is the 1970’s-set TV show Daisy Jones and the Six, which gathered several accusations of actors having ‘IPhone face’, but the most notable one was regarding Sam Claflin, whose too perfect teeth were considered to ruin the fact that this show was not supposed to be set in the modern day

Let’s compare this to some other actors in period dramas. For example, although still a very conventionally attractive woman, Keira Knightley has maintained her unique mouth and teeth structure despite the growing number of people having surgery to change their own, and I think this is why she is still such a popular choice of actress to star in historical film and TV. Whilst she is clearly beautiful, she maintains her definitively unique features that keep her from falling into the ‘IPhone face’ trap. The same goes for The White Lotus star Aimee Lou Wood, who was recently praised for refusing to have her teeth straightened or enhanced. It is refreshing to see that rising stars are refusing to give into the pressures to look perfect in Hollywood, and it gives hope that not all is lost to the dreaded ‘IPhone face’. 

Another key actor in the debates regarding Daisy Jones was Camilla Morrone, who was considered just too polished and refined in her appearance, from her perfectly groomed eyebrows, to her hair not having a single strand out of place. Again, in the 1970’s they just didn’t have the technology and products to be able to put so much effort into their appearance, so why when it comes to filming something set in that time do producers think it makes sense to do this? 

It’s all down to a question of aesthetics. Producers want conventionally attractive people in their high budget, mainstream films in order to appeal to as wide an audience as possible, and therefore make maximum profit. As a result, they give no regard to historical accuracy, and hence modern day hair and makeup styles make their way onto film sets in an attempt to make things look as polished and refined as possible.

It is as if everyone must resemble an Instagram influencer, no matter the character. This leads us back to Wuthering Heights and Jacob Elordi’s casting. Interestingly, Elordi has actually been in a period drama before, playing Elvis Presley in Sofia Coppola’s Priscilla. Enhancements had to be made to the set of this film due to his extreme height of nearly two metres, and he towered over his onscreen wife Cailee Spaeny who measured in at just 5 foot 2. In reality, Elvis Presley was 6 foot tall, so whilst he was still a decent height for a man in the 1960’s, Elordi’s height should still have been an indicator that perhaps he was not the right man for the part. People in the 1960’s also did not have access to gyms or the extreme exercise culture that we see today. Therefore, Elordi’s above average physique and height is extremely untypical, and actually near impossible, for the period settings of both Priscilla and Wuthering Heights and not at all historically accurate. 

Nevertheless, he was still cast in the role. Because, like I said, he is an extremely attractive man with a fanbase as a result of that, who therefore will bring in a large audience to whatever he is cast in and make studios lots of money. The same goes for Margot Robbie: she is widely considered one of the most attractive women in the world, and unfortunately looks bring in far, far more money than historical accuracy, so why would studios want to be accurate?

On the other hand, those interested in history or the original Wuthering Heights novel do want to see justice brought to the text and the 1800’s setting. At this time, most people had rounder, far less defined faces than what we see today, as well as a much paler skin tone, so I suppose these are a couple of the features that define someone as not having an ‘IPhone face’, and why actors such as Elle Fanning, as mentioned, have been deemed more suitable to star in the film. She also looks far younger than Robbie, although still 27 years old, but this would still be far more suitable when trying to approach the adaptation with accuracy. And as for Elordi’s casting as Heathcliff, who is a person of colour and is explicitly stated as that in the book, producers have deliberately ignored Bronte’s writing in order to make their own, more ‘attractive’ version of the story, as well as cause a whitewashing controversy.

So overall, it is clear that the issue of ‘IPhone faces’ is growing and will likely continue to grow. They certainly do exist, as seen in many recent period dramas that have failed to avoid them, and they are evidently noticed by those who are watching them and are clearly irritated by them being placed in these settings where they do not belong or suit. Audiences are struggling to find these ‘perfect’ looking actors believable and accurate within a historical role and I believe this can lead to a lack of empathy with characters as well as enjoyment of the film or TV show. However, I fear they are something we will have to get used to: they don’t seem to be going anywhere and will likely continue to annoy us for many films to come, including in Wuthering Heights.

Photos provided via FilmGrab.