Harry Styles as Elvis Presley? He’s a top pick for Baz Luhrmann’s biopic
After much conversation, Warner Bros. is taking action to cast its lead for Baz Luhrmann’s upcoming Elvis Presley biopic.
According to the Hollywood Reporter, Harry Styles, Ansel Elgort, Miles Teller, Austin Butler and Aaron Taylor-Johnson have all auditioned for the rockin’ role. The studio is expected to make its final decision later this month.
Styles boasts the most professional music experience of the bunch. Like Presley, the One Direction alum knows what it’s like to sell out stadiums and perform for thousands of screaming fans. But he also has the least professional acting experience — his first and only film role was in Christopher Nolan’s Oscar-nominated 2017 war drama, “Dunkirk.â€
Meanwhile, Elgort holds triple-threat status. The actor, who also deejays under the name Ansolo, is already set to sing and dance as Tony in Steven Spielberg’s upcoming adaptation of “West Side Story.†And Teller, soon to fly alongside Tom Cruise in “Top Gun: Maverick,†has also dabbled in musical film. The actor generated awards-season buzz in 2014 for his turn as a neurotic jazz drummer in Damien Chazelle’s “Whiplash.â€
Taylor-Johnson will appear next in “The King’s Man,†alongside Ralph Fiennes and Stanley Tucci, while Butler stars in Quentin Tarantino’s buzzy Leonardo DiCaprio-Brad Pitt flick, “Once Upon a Time in ... Hollywood.â€
Warner Bros. has also tapped Tom Hanks to play Presley’s manager, Colonel Tom Parker, in the “Moulin Rouge†director’s take on the King of Rock ’n’ Roll.
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