Before starring as Elvis Presley in Sofia Coppola’s “Priscilla,” Jacob Elordi was only familiar with the King of Rock and Roll from Disney’s “Lilo & Stitch.”
During a recent appearance on “The Tonight Show With Jimmy Fallon,” Elordi sat down to discuss his role in the film, which centers on the life of Priscilla Presley (Cailee Spaeny) and her relationship with Elvis.
“The most I knew of Elvis was in ‘Lilo & Stitch,'” Elordi admitted. “Which is a lot, by the way.”
“Lilo & Stitch” follows Lilo (Daveigh Chase) and her friendship with an extraterrestrial creature she meets on the island of Hawaii, whom she names Stitch (Chris Sanders). Lilo, an avid Elvis Presley fan, teaches Stitch how to become a “model citizen” like the singer and, at one point, dresses Stitch up in a Presley-inspired ensemble. The 2002 animated film also features five of Presley’s hits, including “Burnin’ Love” (performed by Wynonna Judd), “Heartbreak Hotel,” “Stuck on You,” “Suspicious Minds,” “Hound Dog,” and “Devil in Disguise.”
When asked about the pressures of being cast as Presley, Elordi told Fallon that the singer hadn’t been on his “list of people to play.”
“Sofia [Coppola] had sent me these sides that said Elvis, and I kind of was just like, ‘There’s just no chance that this is happening,'” Elordi recalled. “So I watched this clip of him when he came back from the Army in Germany and I read the lines for like 15 minutes and then shot two takes, not thinking that it would go anywhere.”
Luckily, Elordi says, Coppola liked his rendition, and he got the part.
“The whole time I was trying to take [‘Priscilla’] like I was making ‘Blue Valentine’ or something,” Elordi said, referencing Derek Cianfrance’s 2010 drama. “Just like a straight-up relationship drama without Elvis and Priscilla, for Sofia Coppola. That was the goal.”
“Priscilla” premieres in theaters Nov. 3.
