Australian actor and star of Stranger Things, Dacre Montgomery, has joined the cast for the upcoming Elvis Presley biopic being filmed in Queensland. The 25-year-old will play TV director Steve Binder.
The main cast has now officially been set with Richard Roxburgh (Moulin Rouge!), Helen Thomson (Top of the Lake), David Wenham (The Lord of the Rings trilogy), Luke Bracey (Hacksaw Ridge) and Dacre Montgomery among the prominent Australian actors co-starring with Tom Hanks, Austin Butler and Olivia DeJonge in the film.
Roxburgh will portray Elvis’s father, Vernon Presley, alongside Thomson, who will play his mother, Gladys. Wenham will play Hank Snow while Bracey will portray Jerry Schilling.
Joining the ensemble are Australian actors Leon Ford (The Pacific) as Tom Diskin, Kate Mulvany (The Great Gatsby) as Marion Keisker, Gareth Davies (Peter Rabbit) as Bones Howe, Charles Grounds (Crazy Rich Asians) as Billy Smith, Josh McConville (Fantasy Island) as Sam Phillips, Adam Dunn (Home and Away) as Bill Black, Natasha Bassett (Hail, Caesar!) as Dixie Locke and Xavier Samuel (Adore) as Scotty Moore.
The biographical story will follow the career of the late ‘King of Rock and Roll’, Elvis, helmed by Australian writer and director, Baz Luhrmann.
It will also focus primarily on the complex dynamic between Elvis (Butler) and his manager, Colonel Tom Parker (Hanks), over the space of twenty years “against the backdrop of the evolving cultural landscape and the loss of innocence in America.”
Luhrmann is partnering with his wife, Catherine Martin — who also worked with him on The Great Gatsby and Moulin Rouge.
Butler, whose most recent outing was in Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood, was the “perfect” choice for the role and in an interview with Deadline, 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,” he told the publication.
“I knew unequivocally that I had found someone who could embody the spirit of one of the world’s most iconic musical figures.”
The film will also star Australian newcomer Olivia DeJonge (Netflix’s The Society) as Priscilla Presley (the role will no doubt skyrocket her to instant stardom) and Maggie Gyllenhaal and Rufus Sewell as Elvis’ parents, Vernon and Gladys Presley.
According to Variety, the film will be released in October 2021.