Austin Butler, Jack White, Kurt Russell & More: See Who Played Elvis Presley for Film & TV
There’s no entertainer quite like Elvis Presley. The King of Rock ‘n’ Roll took the world by storm after making his commercial debut in 1956 and quickly became an American icon. With seven No. 1 hits, 25 top 10s and 109 entries on the Billboard Hot 100, Presley’s career — a meteoric ascent and the eventual downfall ahead of his death in 1977 — has become the subject of several movies and television series throughout the decades.
The latest addition to the Elvis Presley cinematic universe came in 2022, with the arrival of Baz Luhrmann’s biographical drama Elvis. Austin Butler took on the role of The King in the movie alongside Tom Hanks, who played Presley’s controversial manager Colonel Tom Parker. The movie — which scored a total of eight nominations at the 2023 Academy Awards, including a best picture and best actor nomination for Butler — followed Presley’s rise to fame, his unprecedented stardom and rocky relationship with Parker later on in his career.
Interest in Elvis’ fascinating life, as well as the people in it, continues, as Sofia Coppola will be the latest director to give a unique take on The King with her upcoming movie Priscilla, which follows Priscilla Presley’s life and love story with the icon throughout the years. The movie, based on Priscilla and Sandra Harmon’s book Elvis and Me, will star Cailee Spaeny as the titular character and Euphoria‘s Jacob Elordi as Elvis. (No release date has been confirmed.)
From The White Stripes’ Jack White and former America’s Got Talent star Drake Milligan to veteran actors like Kurt Russell and Don Johnson, see the men who have stepped into Elvis’ studded jumpsuit for television and film in the gallery below.
Jenny Regan
Billboard