Elvis on screen
But who was the king of Kings?
KURTRUSSELL (ELVIS, 1979)
It would be a shame if Baz Luhrmann’s excellent, extravagant Elvis flick of 2022 were to eclipse this more low-key – but still worthwhile – TV movie from horror maestro John Carpenter. The director’s first team-up with Kurt Russell, who would eventually become a long-running collaborator, vividly evokes the King’s early years to explore how the hallmarks of his public persona were there right from the start. Russell has Elvis’ mannerisms nailed, though lip-syncs to covers recorded by country star Ronnie McDowell.
TYLERHILTON (WALK THE LINE, 2005)
A curious Johnny Cash (played by Joaquin Phoenix) peers through the window of Sun Studio and is quietly overawed at what he sees: a young buck with a tall black qui, shimmying through his Milk Cow Boogie. In this scene from beloved Cash biopic Walk The Line, that young buck is portrayed by singer-songwriter Tyler Hilton, who captures Elvis in his early glory
– a magnetic mix confidence and humility, with all the spoils of superstardom ahead of him.
AUSTINBUTLER (ELVIS, 2022)
A tough act for Priscilla’s Jacob Elordi to follow, Californian star Austin Butler bagged a Golden Globe award for this all-singing, all-dancing turn as the King in Baz Luhrmann’s jukebox musical. Amazingly, he sang the songs himself and claimed that the role consumed him for three years. When fans joked that he still spoke like Elvis after the film’s release, he shrugged: “I’m sure there’s just pieces of my DNA that will always be linked in that way.” The best Elvis actor ever?