Baz Luhrmann revealed why Harry Styles wasn’t cast as Elvis Presley in the upcoming “Elvis” movie in a new interview.
Luhrmann was asked about the One Direction star recently saying that he tried to land the part, sharing on Nova’s “Fitzy & Wippa”: “I don’t audition… I do these really rich workshops. I’ll talk about Harry only because Harry said it himself just recently.”
He added that “Harry is [a] really talented actor. I would work on something with him… the real issue with Harry is, he’s Harry Styles. He’s already an icon.”
Luhrmann continued, “I think Harry and I came to a place, genuinely I mean, he was just desperate to put the suit on and explore. He’s such a great spirit and I have nothing but great things to say about Harry Styles.”
READ MORE: Austin Butler Says Lisa Marie Presley’s Response To ‘Elvis’ Film ‘Brought Me To Tears’
Luhrmann went on to say of Austin Butler, who takes on the role of Presley in the upcoming flick, “The thing about Aust[in] was that he will tell you himself, I didn’t pick him it’s as if he was drawn like the role drew them in because he was almost born to play it.
“You know, we can talk about it now, he like loses his mom at the same age that Elvis did. He sends a video to me with this thing and… He just happened like two years non stop living and breathing as Elvis.
“He’s now going through a sort of like deprogramming thing because he’s been a long time since he’s known who he was.”
Styles recently told Howard Stern of the part: “Elvis was probably the first person I knew besides my family when I was a kid. For that reason, there was something incredibly sacred surrounding him so I thought I should try to get the part,” according to Rolling Stone.
“I was very intrigued by it… I feel like if a director feels like I’m not the best person for the role then it’s better for them and it’s better for me. If they think the movie’s going to be better with someone else then I don’t want to do it because I don’t want to be the not-as-good version.”
