Austin Butler ‘profoundly honoured’ to have landed Elvis Presley role

Austin Butler feels “extraordinarily privileged” to have landed the role of Elvis Presley is Baz Luhrmann’s upcoming biopic.
The former Nickelodeon star beat out the likes of Harry Styles, Miles Teller and Ansel Elgort to be cast as the lead in the upcoming Warner Bros. flick, which will tell the story of the iconic musician and his manager Colonel Tom Parker, set to be played by Oscar winner Tom Hanks.
Speaking to Entertainment Tonight at the Los Angeles premiere for his movie Once Upon a Time in Hollywood on Monday (22Jul19), the 27-year-old gushed he is “profoundly honoured” to have landed the part.
“I am just profoundly honoured that Baz has invited me on this journey with him,” he confessed. “It’s an extraordinary privilege. And I just feel so blessed to be working with such singular directors like him and Quentin Tarantino.”
When news of Butler’s casting broke, Luhrmann released a statement explaining how he decided on the former Nickelodeon star for the coveted part.
“I had heard about Austin Butler from his stand-out role opposite Denzel Washington in The Iceman Cometh on Broadway, and through a journey of extensive screen testing and music and performance workshops, I knew unequivocally that I had found someone who could embody the spirit of one of the world’s most iconic musical figures,” he shared.