- Jacob Elordi learned about Elvis from Lilo & Stitch
- Elordi will play Elvis in Sofia Coppola’s biopic
- Priscilla, the film, has received rave reviews
Jacob Elordi, the star of Priscilla and the actor who will portray Elvis Presley in Sofia Coppola’s upcoming biopic, has stated that everything he knows about the “King of Rock and Roll” came from the Disney movie Lilo & Stitch. In an appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, Elordi described the influence of the animated film and shared how Stitch helped his understanding of Elvis.
Elordi explained, “The most I knew of Elvis [Presley] was in Lilo & Stitch. Which is a lot!”
The 2002 animated movie Lilo & Stitch is centered on the friendship between Lilo Pelekai, a Hawaiian orphan girl, and Stitch, an extraterrestrial creature. Throughout the film, Lilo turns Stitch into an Elvis Presley fan, teaching him to be a “model citizen” like the singer and even dressing him in an Elvis wig. Several of Presley’s songs are also featured in the movie, making it an excellent primer for learning about the music icon.
In discussing the biopic, Elordi admitted to feeling less confident about portraying Elvis than the animated Stitch, stating, “Sofia had sent me these sides that said Elvis and I kinda just was like, ‘There’s no chance that this is happening.’ I watched this clip of him when he came back from the Army in Germany and read the lines for like 15 minutes and then shot two takes not thinking it would go anywhere.”
Despite his doubts, Elordi won the role of Elvis in the film Priscilla, where he stars alongside Mare of Easttown’s Cailee Spaeny as Priscilla Presley. The film explores the untold story of Elvis and Priscilla’s relationship and was met with positive reviews following its premiere at the 80th Venice International Film Festival in September. Priscilla is set to be released by A24 in limited theaters on October 27, 2023, and will expand to wider distribution on November 3, 2023.