‘I LOVED FILMING DOWN UNDER!’
ALTHOUGH SOME LOCALS STILL MANAGED TO RUFFLE THE ACTOR’S FEATHERS...
While Austin Butler’s hip-shaking takes centre stage in Baz Luhrmann’s dazzling biopic
Elvis, his co-star, Tom Hanks, manages to steal some of the spotlight thanks to his terrific portrayal of The King’s infamous manager, Colonel Tom Parker.
Tom confesses that when Baz first approached him to discuss his Elvis Presley biopic, he wasn’t sure how it would work. That is, until he realised the Aussie director wanted him for the role of Parker.
“[And then] I was fascinated by that, and how the Colonel was a guy who saw an opportunity to manifest a once-in-a-lifetime talent into a cultural force,” says Tom.
The film, which is getting early Oscars buzz, was filmed in Queensland, and Tom was joined Down Under by his wife Rita Wilson. He says the couple enjoyed their time on our shores immensely, despite catching COVID in the early days of the pandemic!
There was, however, one intrinsically Aussie thing that had Tom scratching his head
– our white ibis.
“I’m not quite sure why ‘bin chickens’ are as prevalent as they are,” he chuckles. “Those prehistoric-looking birds are absolutely everywhere!”
Tom admits he didn’t know much about Parker, who by all accounts was quite the showman, before filming began.
“It started with conversations with Baz. He talked about the Colonel as this great carny and how the carny’s job is to bring people to the glittering lights on the outside of town, promise them something they have never experienced before and then almost give it to them at a cost.”
That was enough to convince the dual Oscar winner to sign on.
“I said, ‘I’m your man. Now please, show me a picture of what the Colonel looks like!’ Then [Baz] showed me and I thought, ‘Oh my God, what have I done?’
“Let’s just say, the people that played gorillas in Planet of the Apes spent less time in the makeup chair than I did on this movie!”
Apart from the physical transformation, Tom faced the challenge of bringing humanity to a somewhat dodgy character.
“Was he a cheap crook that played fast and loose with the money? Yeah, he was a little … but they worked that all out to everybody’s satisfaction.
“[He] brought joy to everything he did, along with just a little bit of larceny. The amount of ways that Colonel Tom Parker then cheated people out of nickels, dimes and dollars is extraordinary.”