Baz Luhrmann is making a movie about Elvin Presley and his relationship with his manager Colonel Tom Parker. Their relationship was not great – Elvis didn’t have a head for business, and Parker took much more than his fair “share” of Elvis’s earnings. But Colonel Parker was Elvis’s Svengali and Elvis’s career probably would have been much different without Parker. It’s great subject matter, is what I’m saying, and I hope Luhrmann has the blessing of Elvis’s estate. Apparently, Luhrmann has already cast Tom Hanks as Parker, but Baz is still looking for his Elvis. He’s been auditioning some of Hollywood’s brightest young stars. And now we know WHO made the shortlist.
Baz Luhrmann is testing a top group of young actors for the role of Elvis Presley in his Warner Bros film about the legendary singer and his manager Colonel Tom Parker. Luhrmann filmed a group of actors last weekend, and will make a decision by next week. Tom Hanks is already set to play Presley’s manager, Parker. The top names all can sing and showed their hip swivel and sneer to Luhrmann, who has a tough choice.
The contenders: Ansel Elgort, The Fault in Our Stars and Baby Driver star; Miles Teller, who’s about to be seen in Top Gun: Maverick, and who nearly got the lead role in La La Land after starring in such films as Whiplash; Austin Butler, who is about to be seen in a breakout turn in Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time In Hollywood after playing in the cast of Jim Jarmusch’s The Dead Don’t Die. Last but not least and just as intriguing: Harry Styles, the former One Direction lead singer who broke into movie acting with Dunkirk.
This is going to be a big job, so stay tuned. Luhrmann wrote the script with Craig Pearce, and it covers the relationship between the veteran manager and the young singer, who came from dirt-poor origins to become an iconic star who changed the course of music. Parker was reputed to have taken half of Presley’s earnings for himself, in exchange for building him.
If we’re JUST going by looks and height – Elvis was a tall, slender beanpole in his early days – I would honestly say Miles Teller is the guy. Miles looks the most like Elvis, he’s tall like Elvis, he has hair like Elvis, and say what you will about Miles giving off douche vibes (he does), but he can actually ACT. Can Ansel Elgort act? I’m really asking. Ansel would perhaps be my second choice, once again just going on looks, but Ansel wouldn’t be able to do any part of Elvis’s speaking or singing voice. Neither would Harry Styles, and I’m saying that as a Harry stan. Please don’t get a British guy to play Elvis. We can HEAR the difference. As for the other option, Austin Butler… he has Elvis hair and that’s about it.
Photos courtesy of WENN, archival photos from ‘Jailhouse Rock’ promotion.
Ansel is so overrated — I’m still devastated and confused that he landed Goldfinch role.
My daughters all adore him, I think their demographic is what they might be hoping for and not mine
He is the blandest of the bland. Completely forgettable and vanilla.
It’s OK if Elgort takes the blandest of the bland roles, such as Tony in the upcoming travesty of a remake of West Side Story, or plays characters like the lobotomised cypher in Baby Driver, but as an actual breathing human person? Not so much. I knew he’d be chosen to play Elvis in this film the second I saw the headline. Hank’s isn’t as much of a draw as he used to be, so they need a young star to bring ’em in. Even Cole Sprouse would have been better than Elgort.
He’s so bland, vanilla has more flavor. He’s only as popular and sought after as he is because of who his father is. He ruined The Fault In Our Stars for me. I can’t stand his face.
I hate all these choices.
That was my exact reaction. I don’t know who I would pick, but I dislike all of these options.
Also, Miles and Ansel always get confused in my mind. To me they’re the same bland, funky looking white dude who can barely act.
Thank you!!
Baz likes Brit/Aussie actors so I’m not surprised by the number of Brits involved. But none are good enough to be young Elvis. Or rather capture it. Miles can’t capture that southern boy naivety and he’s the best actor of the bunch.
Same. Elvis deserves better.
True. It’s gotta be hard, though, because there’s only one Elvis & only ever will be one Elvis. Having said that, I thought Jacob Rhys Meyers did a great job playing the young Elvis, and he’s English.
*Jonathan Rhys Meyers
I saw that Kyle Gallner posted this: https://www.instagram.com/p/BzbIkTVnuWO/
I think he would be as good (better?) than any of these fools.
me too.
My very first thought was Timothee Chalamet! He’s tall. He’s sexy af. He’s got that animal magnetism that I think is required for the role.
Nope. Elvis had an iconic full-lipped mouth capable of a lush sneer & undeniable “bedroom eyes.”
Not enough make-up to fake those eyes. His face is so well known for 60+ years that picking Timothy or Harry or Ansel would be a huge mistake. If Jonathan R-M isn’t too old, he could do it. I greatly dislike Teller but better him than trying to convince an audience for a couple of hours that someone with zero facial features in common with Elvis is Elvis on screen. Maybe Baz will will find an Aussie with the right look to make this work.
Height/build doesn’t matter. If the “star” is short or not especially slender, they can surround him with shorter, fuller-bodied cast-mates. Simple to do, as plenty of talented actors are, in the words of Matthew Brody, “vertically challenged.”
Some of movies’ leading stars stand on platforms ( or, their cast mates, including leading ladies, stand in a hole.)
Short guys include Al Pacino, James McEvoy, Tom Hollander, Martin Freeman, Tom Cruise, Frank Sinatra (5’7″ with lifts,) Alan Ladd (Shane. 5’5″) Tim Roth & Martin Sheen – both 5’6″.
Tall??!!??
I like Timothee but he’s a very slightly built young man, he looks like he’s 5’8.
That’s part of why he looked so young next to Army Hammer in CMBYN.
Same! Elvis was so incredibly handsome and charismatic … I am thinking Miles would have to get lip injections
He’d have to get charisma injections, too.
I don’t like any of those choices. (Nor do I like the suggestion of Joaquin Phoenix, either.) Aren’t there any men in Hollywood who would look at least slightly similar, have charisma, and not be jerks?
Guy named Ezra something. He played The Flash in Wonder Woman.
Hes probably way too old for it, but Joaquin Phoenix is the only one I can think of who could fully portray the mix of talent, mania and depression that was Elvis. The man was a terrible addict, his life ended so young and so sadly. I believe he struggled with addiction way before it became obvious to the world. I see him as a dark, sad figure and I don’t know if I’m alone in that…
I love seeing clips of him when he was very young, and of course his voice and talent was amazing. But he really lost touch with everything and then died so terribly. And I think Joaquin is so good at portraying that kind of persona.
He was incredible as Johnny Cash in Walk The Line, I love that film.
Joaquin did a great job of portraying Johnny.
Elvis was loyal to a fault when it came to the Colonel. Colonel would never agree to touring outside the US, or taking on more serious movie roles (such as Streisand offering Elvis the ASIB male lead).
My personal theory is that frustration over his career plus the divorce led to his downward spiral those last 3 – 4 years. I agree that he likely had long-term depression and addiction issues, as did his mother reportedly had.
Col. Parker was undocumented (he was Dutch) and couldn’t get a passport. He wasn’t going to let Elvis tour without him, so no touring outside the US
I love Harry as well and I also don’t want him playing Elvis. I’d rather seen an unknown actor to get this role, tbh. But from these guys, I guess Austin.
Also, is Ansel the only white actor around? He’s rumoured to be in everything and for why? Like, enough.
He’s probably not interested but I think it would be neat for Lisa Marie’s son to play Elvis.
I mean I am not an Elvis fan so I won’t be seeing this at all, despite my love of Baz Luhrmann.
Just going by looks alone, I think Austin could do it. He was cute in The Carrie Diaries, but then again, his character was no Elvis. I agree that Miles can act his ass off. But please, STOP trying to make Ansel Elgort happen.
i stan harry so hard but…. honestly why is he even INCLUDED in this conversation? agreed, though, miles is the man for the job, even though he seems like The Worst irl
I guess because he may be able to draw on some of his own performance experiences and can actually sing, plus his fan base maybe. I haven’t seen Dunkirk so I don’t know if he can actually act though..!
I’d go Miles Teller for this one, I think. Ansel is eh, and no idea who Austin Butler is.
Miles is so incredibly douchy looking to me. I want to look away rather than at. Elvis, despite everything, at least in the beginning, was a sexual magnet.
Agreed Bella Bella! Miles is so gross…I cannot even look at the guy in any film. I strongly dislike any of these choices. Whoever Baz chooses needs sex appeal and these guys are vanilla. He needs an “It” factor. Honestly, best Elvis I ever saw was Kurt Russell back in the day on a made for TV movie. He did the voice and moves perfectly…even had the snear.
A little on the older side, but what about Finn Wittrock? He’s got the hair and eyes and even the jawline, but he’s perhaps a bit too pointy? He doesn’t quite have the Elvis softness in the face.
Kaiser! I was literally just thinking the same thing. We can HEAR the difference when a Brit plays Elvis. And even though he acts like a douche canoe, miles teller has to be the choice. Dude can ACT!
Tilda Swinton because everything.
And here I was thinking his granddaughter Riley.
There must be more than the same five assholes up for every young stud role in Hollywood. I wouldn’t watch any of those guys play Elvis.
I’d pick Timothee Chalomet. He’s got the chops!
JRM will be my forever-Elvis. Even though his life seems to be an alcohol soaked dumpster fire, that miniseries was great and he got the character so right.
Yes! The only one who came close to the young sexy Elvis.
miles teller seems so douche bro-ish but lets be honest my friends, when i was 23 – i would. i would end up in tears and probably run back for more. there is something compelling about him. he’s charming in that pick-up artist way. i think his vibe would be perfect for elvis. faux vulnerability…sweet faced bad boy who is actually a gross jerk. he was excellent in whiplash and if he has that energy in him again – he would nail it and…baz luhrmann get good performances – period.
i watched that terrible zac efron movie he was in and even though it was literally painful to watch, even on saturday morning on tbs, i perked up when he was on screen. he was really physical and sexy in his sceens with mackenzie davis. it amazed me b/c in other movies i’ve found his face obnoxious and unattractive.
Ew
The two biggest douches in Hollywood, Miles and Ansel. Is this all Hollywood has to offer for this age demographic? But at this point, I say anyone but Ansel!
+1. They may be talented, but their real life personalities are awful from what I have seen.
So Elvis was a giant creep, right? I am way too young for the Elvis mania, and none of my family were Elvis fans, so it was only recently that I’ve fully realized his obsession with underage girls. I knew Priscilla wasn’t 18 but I didn’t realize she was a freaking child when she got with him. But she wasn’t the only teenager involved – there were creepy sleepovers with underage girls as well – which, I’m kind of curious whether or not they’ll portray this kind of stuff in the biopic. I have my doubts because it seems like so many people are basically held up as saints once they’ve died.
I’ve never understood how so many young girls were even allowed to attend those sleepovers. My Dad would mention what terrible judgment Priscilla’s stepfather and mother had, by permitting their teenage daughter to move in with him.
His stardom apparently blinded the adults as well as the young girls.
I think that’s the key here. I think so many adults were blinded by his star power that they just kind of went with it. Some were probably hoping that he’d marry into the family, honestly. Stuff like that always horrified my parents – but they also hate pageants and other things like that – I grew up with really suspicious parents haha.
This reminds me of a documentary I watched on Netflix (that I think was covered on this site) where a guy had been sleeping with the mother of the child he decided to kidnap – but was ALSO fooling around with the kids dad. It was like everyone who should have been outraged just kept ‘accidentally’ sleeping with this guy. And he wasn’t even famous lol
If I recall, they did some elaborate lying at first to make it seem as though Priscilla was living with Elvis’ aunt or something, and not him. I think they also sent postcards from one place before they travelled to another. I also think that the agreement was when she officially moved in at like 17, that Elvis had to marry her.
The whole thing is super bizarre and should have raised a million red flags for her parents. I think she was only 13 or 14 when she first met him, and he was in his 20’s.
@Arizona, I think you are right in that one of the relatives was supposed to be the “chaperone”. I was thinking it may have been Vernon (his father), who lived in a house adjacent to the property after his remarriage.
I just cannot fathom how any responsible parent could agree to let their 14/15-yo child travel to another country (or across the street for that matter) to live with a famous stranger. I had suspicious parents, too, and there is no way they would have bought into the ruse, future marriage promise or not.
Yikes. That’s so sketchy. I really feel for Priscilla – it seems like everyone around her dropped the ball. She was basically groomed. And THEN – she has his child, and he basically drops her because he couldn’t bring himself to get it on with someone who’d had a child. Which – my god, a therapist would probably have a field day.
Very sadly this was/is so so common with musicians and actors. I mean Bowie was doing this too. Hell Paul Walker did this. The movie will sadly gloss over the girls ages and reduce them to the groupie cliche or just love interest. No one has the balls to call out this predation.
She was 14 when they met, IIRC. Big yikes.
14?? That’s criminal, to say the least. I’m also too young for Elvis mania, but I have a 14-year old daughter and…no way. I know what’s wrong with an adult male who preys on young girls, but what is wrong with the parents in these situations?! I can’t imagine being so star struck or blinded by a man’s wealth that I would allow my daughter to be victimized like that.
Hmmm now i know why he liked Hawaii. The age of consent is 14, at least was in 90s (randomly brought up in sex ed to explain consent laws on different states) hopefully changed by now. Just gross.
Not only was Elvis a giant creep/predator and musically he did nothing but steal from African American artists. Does anyone think Baz is going to address the blatant theft? This biopic will be a hard pass.
None of the above.
Ezra Miller? But I think Miles Teller might get it.
I think Ezra would be great.
That being said, I don’t think middle America would tolerate an out actor playing their precious Elvis.
Ezra Miller would be amazing!
Ezra Miller would be amazing!
Why not Benjamin Keough? Looks a lot like his grandfather. I have no clue if he can act or sing though.
Good suggestion. He could always lip sync, which I think Kurt Russell did in the Elvis TV movie many years ago.
This is tricky, Elvis had such original looks. Perhaps someone completely unknown.
What about Adam Lambright?
He’s probably too old.
Nicholas Hoult?
he is super talented and a cool person. however, I don’t see him as elvis. miles looks like elvis a bit. but nobody among the contenders has charisma. when I was a kid, in the 90s, actors were really something. the mega stars had the presence of mega stars. now the actors kids love are quite plain and boring.
An excellent choice – far and above better than the suggestions of Algort or Teller.
I’m in the minority, but I can see Harry Styles in the role. Ages ago, I worked with a guy who looked a lot like Elvis. He was tall, slender, and his face really had the Elvis look.
It should be Miles Teller. He’s got the looks and the cocksuredness of Elvis. I’d suggest Kyle Gallner as well. He looks dead in like a blinder version of EP.
OMG, Kyle Gallner would be a great choice. He is so underrated, he should be having Ansel Engort’s career. I am kind of sad, his career really took really of.
I posted this upthread, but I just saw he posted this on IG: https://www.instagram.com/p/BzbIkTVnuWO/
I wish Kyle Gallner was in all the things.
Vommmmm will not watch if its Miles and I looooove Elvis!
What about Chamalet?! Charisma and sex appeal and youthful charm. An Elvis clone is less important than the vibe.
Chalamet was my thought as well. Can never get enough of that guy.
How about they stop making bio pics and come up with original stories instead? And another Oscar will go to some actor who does his homework, watches a lot of old videos and a great job at imitation. 🙄
Finn Wittrock, Great actor, already has the look. Maybe a bit older, but he has a young face.
And Miles was recently on Jimmy Kimmel saying that playing Elvis would be a dream role for him. Interesting.
Miles would actually kill it. Aside from being super douchey, he’s actually very talented and I don’t think I’ve disliked him in any role he’s been in.
I don’t really like any of these choices. The Hollywood Reporter has Aaron Taylor-Johnson on the short list as well and I might choose him over these 4.
Miles has to be it. He’s a douche but so damn compelling on screen. He has the charisma to pull it off.
I adore Harry and he has an amazing voice but I don’t think his acting chops are there yet.
Read the headline and I immediatly thought Miles Teller. He irritates me though haha
Just curious as to why Elvis is glorified given the treatment and public opinion on Michael Jackson? I’m not a fan of MJ but it seems hypocritical to treat them so differently if they were both grooming and abusing underage kids. Truly curious about this. Maybe it’s just that Elvis isn’t as popular as MJ to the Gen Z/Zennial crowd so less is known about him and they don’t care? (But then, why make a movie about him for that age group?)
Do you REALLY have to ask?
When it comes to Elvis Presley, Public Enemy/Chuck D got it right.
I don’t particularly care for the choices, but I think it’s Miles Teller hands down. There’s too much focus on who LOOKS like Elvis when that’s really the least important thing. Joaquin Phoenix looks NOTHING like Johnny Cash and I laughed out loud when I heard Phoenix was playing him. But Phoenix BECAME Johnny Cash.
There are too many lightweight pretty boys/girls clogging up the scene. Leave the rom-coms to them and let REAL actors do the heavy-lifting.
I don’t care one way or the other about Elvis or casting, I just love Baz Luhrmann’s movies. I wish he made more of them. Carry on!
Max Minghella!?
Ansel Engort looks like a young Andy Partridge to me. Save him for future XTC biopic.
Hahaha. He does look like Andy Partridge!
Start over. None of them should play Elvis
Call me crazy but I think Tyler C from current season of the Bachelorette. He’s got the Elvis star vibes, charisma, and the slight southern twang he could definitely turn into that Mississippian accent. He’s not an actor but I think he has the potential. If not him then we need someone totally unknown!
Alden Ehrenreich might be fun; he was so charming in ‘Hail Caesar’.
I have never been the least bit interested in anything Elvis. I grew up during the screaming fan era but hated his music and his reputation. I hope people take the time to read this article first before seeing some white-washed movie version of his life.
https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/3k8z39/elvis-was-the-king-of-treating-women-like-shit-and-luring-14-year-olds-into-bed
I would actually really like to see an honest biopic that portrays him as the charismatic and talented disgusting monster that he was. Doubt it would happen though.
Alexander Dreymon. All of Lurhrmann’s choices are terrible.
I haaaaate all of these choices, even if I do like Harry styles. True Miles has the look but my god he is insufferable. Think about a press tour of him talking about embodying Elvis. No thanks.
Timothy Chalamet, maybe. His looks aren’t right for it exactly, but Dylan O’Brien might be good. They’d have to prosthetic his nose for sure. Or geez idk can Shawn Mendez act???
Don’t hate but I can see Zac Efron
Am I the only one who is sick of Harry Styles? Sure he’s pretty, but I’ve been getting kind of a skeevy vibe from him lately.
Robert Pattinson always had an Elvis look about him but maybe too well known and maybe can’t sing?
He has a song on the Twilight soundtrack called Never Think.
Not sure about his acting chops, but Noah Centineo has the look for it. Besides, kids love him.
I feel like Im the only one that kind of likes the Harry Styles choice lol….
Another possible suggestion. Aaron Taylor Johnson? I mean hes done young Lennon before.
How is Darren Criss not on here??? Look at his character Blaine Anderson and tell me that he doesn’t look like young Elvis.
Miles definitely has the Elvis look, esp. his manly nose. Ansel doesn’t really look like Elvis but he has a great singing voice. Harry Styles – I just don’t see it. If he were cast, I’d be less likely to want to watch. I am a huge Elvis fan and I just don’t see an Elvis spirit in him, even if he does sing.