Elvis Casting Director Explains How Austin Butler Secured His Role

Elvis opened up to great success at the box office and has been met with praise from critics, many of which have offered particular praise to actor Austin Butler‘s performance as the titular music icon. Directed by Baz Luhrmann, Elvis tells the story of Elvis Presley’s rise to fame as seen through the eyes of his manager, Colonel Tom Parker (Tom Hanks). It is now playing in movie theaters after premiering in June.

Speaking with Variety about Butler’s casting as the King of Rock ‘n Roll, casting director Denise Chamian opened up about what it was like to cast the role of Elvis Presley. This was something that was taken so seriously by Luhrmann and the filmmakers that actors from all across the world were considered. Even so, Butler was someone who had been in consideration from the very start of the process.

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“When I started casting Elvis, Baz wanted to do a worldwide search — which we did. We went all over the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. We even went to London. We did open casting calls online and even looked at Elvis impersonators, but from the very beginning, there was something about Austin to me that was a little reminiscent of Elvis. I knew he could sing, but I didn’t know how well. His agent told me that.”

Chamian had a good feeling about Butler from the start, but Luhrmann had a handful of people he wanted to test for the role before making the final call. Other actors that were in the mix as finalists for the role included Ansel Elgort, Miles Teller, and Harry Styles. Butler’s name was included on a list of actors given to Luhrmann by Chamian, and while she recommended Butler for the role, his lack of starring roles in major feature films made the casting a bit of an uphill climb.

“When we got to Austin, I said, ‘This is your Elvis,’ and Baz just looked at me. It’s a pretty big statement to make. Shortly thereafter, I had Austin go on tape and that started the process of Baz meeting with him, doing a workshop in New York and we tested him along with other actors. Until we did the screen tests, I don’t think it was clear to anybody, necessarily, that it was going to be Austin. There were a lot of factors to really consider. He was also pretty much unknown out of that group of guys.”

Related: Austin Butler’s Best Performances, Ranked

Austin Butler Nailed ‘Unchained Melody’ to Secure the Role

Bazmark Films

Austin Butler had a certain look and charm that were reminiscent of Elvis Presley, but how he sang and perform were also important factors to consider. Chamian reveals how Butler had recorded himself performing a rendition of “Unchained Melody” with the video leaving a big impact. The other actors had performed the very same song with their own screen tests, complete with the trademark hair and white jumpsuit, but not one of them seemed to replicate the real Elvis as much as Butler.

“He did his own recording of ‘Unchained Melody.’ He sat down at a piano. He’d had a dream about his mom who had passed away a few years ago, so there was a feeling of melancholy. He went in and just recorded it. He sent it to his agent, and his agent sent it to me. I thought it was amazing and said we are going to hold onto this until his audition, and we’ll send this. Everyone did the same song for the test and the white suit for their final auditions. They had hair and makeup. It was a full-blown test. He’s so great in the film, and by the end, people have missed that edit from Austin’s Elvis to the real Elvis. I was blown away by his performance.”

Elvis is now playing in movie theaters.

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