After moving to Los Angeles in 2017 to pursue an acting career, he gained prominence with his role as Noah Flynn, the bad boy love interest, in Netflix's The Kissing Booth film series (2018–2021).

He also became known for his role as troubled high school football player Nate Jacobs in HBO's teen drama series Euphoria (2019–present).

In 2023, he starred as Elvis Presley in the biographical film Priscilla and as a wealthy university student in Saltburn, which earned him a nomination for the BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role.

[6][7] "My grandfather would strangle me if he knew that it said Spanish descent", Elordi said of his Wikipedia page, which originally said his father's family was from Spain and he then corrected to Basque.

[4] Throughout secondary school, Elordi continued to play rugby until he broke a bone in his back during a match, which, according to him, pushed him away from athletics and toward acting.

[12] He was inspired by actors such as Marlon Brando, Laurence Olivier, Daniel Day-Lewis, Christian Bale, and Ledger and would read their biographies while emulating their behaviours.

[25][18][10][4] He was then selected to play Nate Jacobs, a troubled high school football player with an abusive father, whom he portrayed from the show's pilot episode in 2019.

[29] Entertainment Weekly's Maureen Lee Lenker wrote that his performance in the film was "ham-fistedly goofy" while Owen Gleiberman of Variety opined that Elordi was "done no favors by being in" 2 Hearts.

[31][32] In 2022, he starred as Charlie, a piano teacher and one of Ana de Armas's character's lovers, in Adrian Lyne's erotic thriller Deep Water.

[42] Gabriella Ferlita of PinkNews stated that Elordi "achieved countless words of praise for his rendition of The King" from critics.

[45] In his final release of 2023, Elordi starred in Emerald Fennell's psychological drama Saltburn as Felix Catton, a wealthy and charismatic British Oxford University student.

[57][58] Elordi starred in Oh, Canada, a drama film directed by Paul Schrader, in which he played the younger version of Richard Gere's character, an aging documentary filmmaker reminiscing on his life.

[63][64][23][65][66][11] Gabriella Paiella of GQ wrote that Elordi had "classic, undeniable leading man looks", while Larisha Paul of Rolling Stone called him "Hollywood's reigning heartthrob of the 2020s".