Jacob Elordi and Sydney Sweeney Spark Romance

appeared to have set his sights on a new leading lady this weekend as he put on a cosy display with his co-star .

The Australian actor, 28, first crossed paths with the American star, also 28, on the set of the drama, where they have previously played an on-screen couple.

And their chemistry translated off screen, as they cuddled up to each other on stage at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival at The Arlington Theatre on Sunday.

It mirrored his recent flirty promotional tour with Wuthering Height's co-star , as they promoted the Emerald Fennel adaptation of the classic novel.

Their professional relationship has been raising eyebrows after they made a series of gushing comments about one another and their time shooting the film.

So gratuitous has their behaviour been that fans started accusing the pair of taking part in a 'lame' publicity stunt in order to promote the movie.

A similar narrative surrounded Sydney's 2023 press tour for romantic comedy Anyone But You, where she was accused of romancing her co-star Glenn Powell.

Even though both were in relationships at the time, their cosy appearances fuelled speculation that they were more than co-stars. 

The swirling rumours were also helped by the fact Glen's ex-girlfriend unfollowed Sydney on Instagram and the couple split soon afterwards. 

Both parties publicly denied there was ever a real romance between them. Sydney insisted her closeness with Glen was grounded in friendship and respect.

On Sunday, Sydney and Jacob were being honoured as recipients of the Santa Barbara festival's prestigious Virtuosos Award, a special recognition given to actors for standout performances.

They were acknowledged for their exceptional work in films this year, notably for Jacob in Frankenstein and Sydney in Christy.

Jacob starred in Guillermo del Toro's adaptation of Mary Shelley's 1818 Gothic novel as the famous Creature, brought back to life by scientist Victor Frankenstein - played by Oscar Isaac.

While Jacob's incredible performance as the Creature has also landed him a nomination for Best Actor In A Supporting Role, where he will face off against Benicio del Toro, Sean Penn, Delroy Lindo and Stellan Skarsgard. 

The Netflix film was released in November to critical acclaim and is up for a whopping nine Academy Awards next month, including Best Picture and Best Adapted Screenplay.

Fresh off the success of the sci-fi horror, Jacob went straight into the steamy press tour for upcoming film, Wuthering Heights. 

Jacob previously raised eyebrows when he declared that he and Margot were 'obsessed' with each other while filming the blockbuster, and claimed he made sure he was no less than 10 metres away from the Barbie actress 'at all times'.

'We have a mutual obsession,' he told US entertainment platform Fandango, as the blonde beauty sat nearby.

'I think the thing is, regardless of plot or screenplay, if you have the opportunity to share a film set with Margot Robbie, you're going to make sure you're within 5 to 10 metres at all times.

'Watching how she drinks tea, how she eats her food, how she does it. When is it going to slip? When is the thing going to come undone? And, it never comes undone,' he added.

The mutual 'obsession' helped with getting into character, as Jacob added: 'There'd be a moment where we'd be running hand-in-hand through the moors, maybe not even in the scene, just setting it up, where I'd look across at her and she'd be looking at me and you really realized you are looking at Catherine and she was looking at Heathcliffe'

'And in that moment, we really were a part of their love, for real."

Meanwhile Margot claimed that she became 'co-dependent' on Jacob.

She said: 'I’m so codependent with people I work with and I love everyone so much and I’m always that person who’s so devastated when a job’s over and I never want it to end. I think I developed that quite quickly with Jacob too.'

Margot went on to add that she became so accustomed to the Saltburn star’s presence that when he wasn’t around, she felt 'really unnerved and unmoored', adding: 'I felt quite lost, like a kid without their blanket or something.'

The Barbie star also revealed the touching gesture Jacob made when they filmed over Valentine's Day last year.

She recalled: 'We were shooting on Valentine’s Day. You made my day and, as Heathcliff, filled my room with roses.

'I remember thinking on Valentine’s Day, oh he’s probably a very good boyfriend, ’cause there’s a lot of thoughtfulness in this. You did a lot of very thoughtful things.'

Margot also waxed lyrical about Jacob's acting skills, branding The Kissing Booth 2 star 'the new Daniel Day-Lewis’.

She told The Guardian: 'He’s incredible and I believe in him so much.'

On Wednesday, it was revealed Margot and Jacob had matching signet rings made to commemorate their time together.