When Baz Luhrmann’s “Elvis” was first announced, the role of Elvis Presley quickly became one of the most coveted parts in Hollywood. Seemingly every young actor wanted a chance to play The King, with the likes of Miles Teller, Ansel Elgort, and Harry Styles all vying for the role at various points.
With so much competition, how did relative newcomer Austin Butler land the gig? As it turns out, he got some help from one of Hollywood’s biggest stars.
In a new interview with EW, Luhrmann opened up about the process of casting Butler as “Elvis,” including a nudge he received from Denzel Washington, who appeared with Butler in a 2018 Broadway production of Eugene O’Neill’s “The Iceman Cometh.”
“[Austin Butler] found me,” Luhrmann said. “I received this videotape of this young man in a flood of tears playing ‘Unchained Melody,’ and I thought, ‘Wow, what is that? How is that happening?...
With so much competition, how did relative newcomer Austin Butler land the gig? As it turns out, he got some help from one of Hollywood’s biggest stars.
In a new interview with EW, Luhrmann opened up about the process of casting Butler as “Elvis,” including a nudge he received from Denzel Washington, who appeared with Butler in a 2018 Broadway production of Eugene O’Neill’s “The Iceman Cometh.”
“[Austin Butler] found me,” Luhrmann said. “I received this videotape of this young man in a flood of tears playing ‘Unchained Melody,’ and I thought, ‘Wow, what is that? How is that happening?...
- 5/14/2022
- by Christian Zilko
- Indiewire
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