Jacob Elordi‘s casting in the upcoming Wuthering Heights movie has caused some controversy as the character Heathcliff is described as “dark-skinned” in Emily Brontë’s 1847 novel.

Margot Robbie and Jacob star as Cathy and Heathcliff, whose forbidden passion for one another turns from romantic to intoxicating in an epic tale of lust, love and madness.

Now, Margot is defending the choice to have him play the role.

“I saw him play Heathcliff. And he is Heathcliff. I’d say, just wait. Trust me, you’ll be happy,” she told British Vogue. “It’s a character that has this lineage of other great actors who’ve played him, from Laurence Olivier to Richard Burton and Ralph Fiennes to Tom Hardy. To be a part of that is special. He’s incredible and I believe in him so much. I honestly think he’s our generation’s Daniel Day-Lewis.”

Director Emerald Fennell decided to make the movie after working with Jacob on the film Saltburn and seeing him with sideburns on set. She has said that she thought at the time, “Oh my God, it’s the Heathcliff on the cover of the book that I’ve had since I was a teenager.”

Margot also responded to people who are skeptical about the upcoming Wuthering Heights movie.

“Everyone’s expecting this to be very, very raunchy. I think people will be surprised. Not to say there aren’t sexual elements and that it’s not provocative – it definitely is provocative – but it’s more romantic than provocative. This is a big epic romance. It’s just been so long since we’ve had one – maybe The Notebook, also The English Patient. You have to go back decades. It’s that feeling when your chest swells or it’s like someone’s punched you in the guts and the air leaves your body. That’s a signature of Emerald’s. Whether it’s titillating or repulsion, her superpower is eliciting a physical response.”