(Photo Credit: Theo Wargo/Getty Images)
Meet The New Elvis Presley
Austin Butler has been cast as legendary rocker Elvis Presley in Baz Luhrmann’s untitled project about the superstar, Warner Bros. Pictures Group chairman Toby Emmerich announced on Monday. The biopic will explore the life and music of Elvis through his complicated relationship with his manager Col. Tom Parker, who will be played by Tom Hanks.
Butler made his Broadway debut in 2019 opposite Denzel Washington in Eugene O’Neill’s “The Iceman Cometh.” It was there that he received rave reviews for his performance. His latest work is starring opposite Leonardo DiCaprio and Brad Pitt in Quentin Tarantino’s “Once Upon a Time in… Hollywood.”
Prior to his landing the role, Butler, Ansel Elgort, Harry Styles, Aaron Taylor Johnson, and Miles Teller had screen-tested to play the iconic singer. Other contenders who met with the studio for the role include rapper G-Eazy aka Gerald Gillum.
In a statement, Luhrmann said he was looking for “an actor with the ability to evoke the singular natural movement and vocal qualities of this peerless star, but also the inner vulnerability of the artist.”
He went on to say that after “extensive screen testing and music and performance workshops,” he knew that Butler was “someone who could embody the spirit of one of the world’s most iconic musical figures.”
By: Maytinee Kramer
