Jacob Elordi: 'Priscilla Presley said I got the Elvis voice right'
The actor opened up about portraying the King of Rock and Roll so soon after Austin Butler in last year's Elvis.
Jacob Elordi has opened up about embodying the King of Rock and Roll in Sofia Coppola’s new biopic drama film Priscilla.
Based on the real-life Priscilla Presley’s autobiography Elvis and Me, the movie charts the 14 year romance between Elvis and Priscilla, as viewed through her eyes.
Of course, playing Elvis – one of the most widely impersonated, parodied figures in human history – is no easy feat.
But now, Elordi has revealed that his Elvis voice got the real-life Priscilla’s seal of approval.
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“She said I got the voice right, which was everything I needed to get,” Elordi told GQ Magazine.
The challenge of playing the legendary musician is made no easier by the fact that Priscilla follows hot on the heels of last year’s Elvis, which saw actor Austin Butler receive critical acclaim for playing the King.
Asked whether it was a daunting task embodying Elvis so soon after Butler, Elordi said: “It certainly crossed my mind briefly before I’d read the script. I don’t want to tell the same story over, especially because he did such a fine job of portraying this man."
He added: "It’s a completely different thing. And it’s terribly exciting, too, running into the fire a little bit. I can’t think of anything more exhilarating.”
Elordi went on to reveal that, similarly to his Elvis predecessor, he kept his voice in the Elvis octave the entire time he was on set.
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“There’s all these layers and hoops that you have to jump through to get to that voice,” Elordi said. “So, for me personally to be dropping out my voice and then coming in, it’s not going to work.”
But unlike Butler, who infamously retained elements of his Elvis voice long after filming on the Baz Luhrmann biopic had wrapped, Elordi’s voice contains "no traces of Elvis-speak today", according to the publication.
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Authors
Molly Moss is a Trends Writer for Radio Times, covering the latest trends across TV, film and more. She has an MA in Newspaper Journalism and has previously written for publications including The Guardian, The Times and The Sun Online.