From "The Lord of the Rings" to "Stranger Things," Baz Luhrmann's "Elvis" is full of
actors that you know you've seen before somewhere.
Tom Hanks may be the biggest name, but odds are you'll recognize the others.
Here's everywhere you might have seen the cast of "Elvis."
Tom Hanks is a man who needs no introduction, but his character in "Elvis" might.
Colonel Tom Parker was a music promoter who worked with some of the biggest names in country
music before stumbling across the path of a young Elvis Presley.
In 1955, Parker began managing Elvis' musical career and helped him negotiate a new deal
with the record label RCA.
Parker continued to act as Elvis' manager until the singer died in 1977, and his character
in Baz Luhrmann's biopic acts as a sort of guide for the audience, leading viewers through
the King's life story.
"I wish to promote you Mr. Presley."
Hanks, of course, has extensive experience not just as an actor, but as someone responsible
for bringing historical figures to life on the big screen.
His career is littered with films based on real events like "Apollo 13," "Saving Mr.
Banks," and "The Post."
He's also taken on more focused memoir-esque projects like "Charlie Wilson's War," "Captain
Phillips," and "Sully."
He's the perfect actor to embody Colonel Tom Parker, and his committed performance helps
to ground the film while elevating it to an entirely new level.
Austin Butler's acting career began when he was still a teenager.
Mid-2000s kids probably caught some of his earliest appearances.
Butler had roles on shows like "Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide," "Hannah Montana,"
"iCarly," and "Zoey 101."
He continued to focus on TV appearances for years, showing up on popular series like "Switched
at Birth" and "Arrow."
If you don't recognize him from his time on the small screen, you might be more familiar
with his recent film endeavors. 2019 in particular was a big year for Butler, who had roles in
"The Dead Don't Die" and "Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood."
Playing Elvis is a huge role for Butler, and while making the film, he felt the pressure
of trying to accurately capture the King's personality.
The pressure reached its peak, as the actor told The Latch, when Elvis' ex-wife Priscilla
Presley sat down to watch the film.
He revealed,
"I was more nervous than ever when I found out she was going to sit down in the theater
and finally see it."
Luckily she loved the film and tweeted about Butler's "mesmerizing" performance.
He melts into his role as the King in a way that any actor would envy, and that every
audience member will likely appreciate.
Olivia DeJonge plays a central role in "Elvis," starring as Priscilla Presley.
The Presleys were married from 1967 to 1973, divorcing just four years before Elvis' death.
DeJonge is a relatively new face, with just over a dozen acting credits to her name.
Her big-screen roles have come in films like "Josie & Jack," "Stray Dolls," and "Undertow,"
but she's also had some highly successful TV gigs.
In 2019 she starred as Elle Tomkins on the Netflix series "The Society."
Just before the "Elvis" premiere, DeJonge played Caitlin Atwater in HBO's critically
acclaimed miniseries "The Staircase."
27-year-old Dacre Montgomery plays Steve Binder.
Binder is a famed director and producer whose collaboration with Elvis in the late 1960s
resulted in one of the most important moments in rock n' roll history.
The two of them worked on what is now known as "The '68 Comeback Special."
The special, taped and released in 1968, featured Elvis performing at his absolute best and
is one of the standout moments of his career.
"I knew we had magic.”
“You knew.”
“I knew he was that incredible."
Montgomery has had a smattering of roles over the past decade.
Some sci-fi fans might recognize him as the Red Ranger from 2017's "Power Rangers," an
ill-fated update of a classic children's TV show.
More than likely, however, people will recognize Montgomery from his role in "Stranger Things"
as Billy Hargrove, a vicious bully and the older step-brother of Max Mayfield.
People have a real fascination with celebrity love lives, and "Elvis" dives headfirst into
the rock star's various relationships.
Natasha Bassett portrays Dixie Locke, Elvis's first girlfriend.
The two began dating in 1954, just before his singing career began, and they stayed
together until 1956.
The tension between Elvis' growing career and his relationship with Locke is a source
of conflict in the film.
By the time the two of them split up, Elvis had become a global sensation who spent little
of his time back home.
Previously, Bassett has starred in polarizing movies that split the opinions of critics
and audiences.
Her 2016 film "Katie Says Goodbye" failed to make an impact with critics, but audiences
highly approved of the film.
Bassett did it again in 2020 with "The Pale Door."
In the lead-up to its release, "Elvis" already secured critical approval, and there's little
doubt that general audiences will be thrilled with the film.
Elvis didn't build his career entirely on his own.
He had the help of other musicians, mentors, and talent managers like Jerry Schilling.
Elvis and Schilling first met when they were just kids.
Schilling was never Elvis' official manager.
But the two collaborated for the first 20 years of Elvis' career.
In Baz Lurhmann's biopic, Schilling is portrayed by Australian actor Luke Bracey, who's made
frequent appearances in action flicks and the occasional romantic comedy throughout
his career.
Bracey's third feature film role was in 2013's "G.I.
Joe: Retaliation" as Cobra Commander.
Since then Bracey has shown up in films like "The November Man" and "Hacksaw Ridge."
He also had the unenviable job of filling in Keanu Reeve's shoes in the critically maligned
"Point Break" remake, and his performance was arguably the highlight of the film.
On the romantic comedy front, Bracey had the opportunity to co-star with James Marsden
in 2014's "The Best of Me," and he worked with writer-director Max Landis on "Me Him
Her" in 2015.
Elvis might be the namesake of Baz Luhrmann's film, but he's far from the only artist who's
featured in the story.
Elvis himself had the opportunity to perform alongside some of the greatest musicians of
his entire generation, and the movie highlights a few of the artists who influenced the King.
One such artist is Hank Snow, a renowned guitarist and songwriter who was inducted into the Country
Music Hall of Fame in 1979.
David Wenham plays the country music legend in "Elvis."
Wenham is no stranger to Luhrmann's style.
The two worked together previously on 2001's "Moulin Rouge!" and 2008's "Australia."
Newbies to Luhrmann's work probably still recognize Wenham from his role as Faramir
in the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy or his time helping Hugh Jackman slay vampires in
"Van Helsing."
Wenham also has some experience portraying historical figures.
He played Dilios in Zack Snyder's "300" and its sequel.
Throughout his life, Elvis maintained a very close relationship with his father, Vernon
Presley, and the two of them would even frequently travel together on tour.
After Elvis' tragic death in 1977, his father became the executor of his estate, acting
in that role until his own death in 1979.
Casting Presley and his wife Gladys, who died in the early years of Elvis' career, proved
to be difficult.
In fact, Luhrmann had to recast the roles after pandemic-related delays changed the
production's schedule.
Like his co-star David Wenham, Richard Roxburgh has a history with Luhrmann that runs all
the way back to "Moulin Rouge!"
Roxburgh also has "Van Helsing" in common with Wenham.
He played Dracula in the 2004 action film.
Wenham wasn't the only familiar face on set for Roxburgh, as he also previously worked
with "Elvis" star Luke Bracey on Mel Gibson's "Hacksaw Ridge."
And TV buffs may have caught Roxburgh on recent shows like "The Hunting," "Catherine the Great,"
and "The Crown."
Elvis had the opportunity to know and perform with some musical legends like Hank Snow,
but he had even more time to develop his skills with his contemporaries, like Snow's son Jimmie
Rodgers Snow.
He's one of the many Elvis contemporaries featured in Baz Luhrmann's biopic.
In the film, Snow is portrayed by Kodi Smit-McPhee, who's recognizable to film fans of all stripes.
At age 13, Smit-McPhee starred as Boy in John Hillcoat's adaptation of Cormac McCarthy's
"The Road."
The young actor went on to join the superhero world as Nightcrawler in several of the "X-Men"
films.
That put Smit-McPhee in front of a huge audience, but another film cemented his reputation as
a young star to watch.
He was nominated for an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor after playing Peter Gordon in Jane Campion's
stunning film "The Power of the Dog."
Smit-McPhee brings an understated brilliance to all his roles, and he's done the same with
his performance as Hank Snow's son.
Xavier Samuel plays another Elvis contemporary, Scotty Moore.
Elvis' history with Moore goes all the way back to the beginning of his career when Moore's
band auditioned Elvis on behalf of Sun Records label owner Sam Phillips in 1954.
At the time, Moore said he wasn't overly impressed with Elvis, though he admitted the young man
had a nice voice.
However, the two went on to play together for years, and Moore played a big part in
creating the King's iconic sound.
Samuel is probably best known for his work in the "Twilight" series.
He played Riley, an evil vampire created by Victoria in her attempt to raise an army of
newborns to fight the Cullens.
Samuel has even more experience with movie monsters based on fictional classics.
In 2015 he starred in "Frankenstein," a modern retelling of the gothic tale.
Even more recently, Samuel had a role on the Amazon Prime series "Tell Me Your Secrets,"
which was a major bomb with critics but has overwhelming support from audiences.
Hopefully, audiences will be just as pleased with his portrayal of one of the greatest
guitarists in rock history.
It's no secret that Elvis was inspired by Black musicians like legendary blues singer
B.B.
King, who met the young Elvis on several occasions.
Long after Elvis died, King recalled,
"I remember Elvis distinctly, because he was handsome and quiet and polite to a fault."
The two didn't have a close relationship by any means, but each left an impact on the
other, and they both changed the course of music history forever.
"They might put me in jail for walking across the street, but you're a famous white boy."
Kelvin Harrison Jr. plays B.B.
King in "Elvis," and he's expressed his excitement for audiences to finally get a chance to see
the film.
This isn't the first time that Harrison Jr. has been responsible for bringing a historical
figure to life on screen.
He previously played Teddy Greene in the historically-inspired series "Godfather of Harlem."
He also starred as Fred Hampton in the 2020 film "The Trial of the Chicago 7."
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