Elvis Presley biopic: Who will play the King in Baz Luhrman biopic?

Elvis Presley was an American singer, musician, and actor and was often referred to as the “King of Rock and Roll” or simply “the King”. He rose to fame as a pioneer of rockabilly, an uptempo, backbeat-driven fusion of country music and rhythm and blues. The King is the bestselling solo artist in the history of recorded music, winning three competitive Grammys and receiving a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award at just 36 years old. But who is going to play the iconic figure in the new Bax Luhrman biopic film?

Who will play Elvis Presley in new biopic?

Austin Butler has beat off fierce competition such as One Direction’s Harry Styles and Fault in Our Star’s Ansel Elgort to play Elvis Presley in the upcoming Baz Luhrman film.

Mr Butler, 27, is an American actor and singer best known for his roles as James “Wilke” Wilkerson in Switched at Birth, Jordan Gallagher on Ruby & The Rockits, Sebastian Kydd in The Carrie Diaries, and Wil Ohmsford in The Shannara Chronicles.

He is also known as the long-term boyfriend of High School Musical Actress Vanessa Hudgens.

The couple have been dating since 2011 are often photographed together, but otherwise tend to remain quiet about their private life.

The actor was born in Anaheim, California, to aesthetician Lori Anne (née Howell) and David Butler.

His acting career began when he was 13 and he was approached by a representative from a background-acting management company at the Orange County Fair who helped him get started in the entertainment industry.

Mr Butler then landed his first regular job as a background actor playing the role of Lionel Scranton for two seasons on Nickelodeon’s Ned’s Declassified School Survival Guide.

Lindsay Shaw, a friend of Mr Butler’s on the show, introduced him to her manager, Pat Cutler who immediately offered to represent him.

From there Mr Butler became more invested in his acting career and started to take on speaking roles – including a guest starring role on Hannah Montana, playing Derek Hanson alongside Miley Cyrus and a recurring role on Jamie Lynn Spears’ show Zoey 101 playing James Garrett.

Following a few appearances in other family-friendly shows such as 20th Century Fox’s Aliens in the Attic and Disney’s Wizards of Waverley Place, the actor won a recurring role as Jones in CW’s Life Unexpected.

He then landed a lead role in High School Musical spin-off Sharpay’s Fabulous Adventure.

Mr Butler won the role of heartthrob Sebastian Kydd in Sex and The City prequel series, however, the show was cancelled on May 8, 2014 after two seasons.

He has also acted in a number of film roles including: thriller The Intruders, horror-comedy Yoga Hosers and comedy Dude.

The 27-year-old actor made his Broadway debut playing Don Parritt, the “lost boy” in The Iceman Cometh from March-July 2018.

On Monday , it was revealed Mr Butler has been cast as Elvis Presley in the biopic directed by Baz Luhrmann.

The actor is set to join Hollywood star Tom Hanks in the Elvis biopic, with shooting set to begin early next year in Queensland, Australia.

Mr Hands has been cast as Elvis’ manager of 20 years Colonel Tom Parker.

In a statement to Deadline, director Baz Luhrman revealed how he had come to select Austin for the coveted role.

He said: “I knew I couldn’t make this film if the casting wasn’t absolutely right, and we searched thoroughly for an actor with the ability to evoke the singular natural movement and vocal qualities of this peerless star, but also the inner vulnerability of the artist.

“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.”