Biopics don’t always succeed. Time and time again, we’ve witnessed this recurring phenomenon in Hollywood: a promising biographical film that initially garners attention as potential Oscar bait, only to fade into relative obscurity months after its debut on the big screen. Take Blonde and Bohemian Rhapsody as lackluster instances of semi-failed biopics.
One of the latest additions to this extensive list of biopics is Elvis. Needless to say, the entire marketing campaign, centered around Austin Butler’s method-acting became even more iconic than the film itself. Straying from this linear line of failed biographies, something tells me the upcoming biopic Priscilla, directed by Sofia Coppola, will be the exception to the rule.
Starting with Jacob Elordi as Elvis Presley, whose differences from the 1950s grandeur star only prove to be the perfect casting, even with their height difference.
Is Jacob Elordi taller than Elvis Presley?
Needless to say, Presley wasn’t known for his height, as much as he was infamously known for his hip thrusts and velvety voice. As we’ll soon see in Coppola’s retelling of the story, he was also known for taking a keen interest in underage girls, but that’s an entirely different story in and of itself. Nevertheless, Presley was indeed quite tall.
One might not have been able to discern this at the time, with analog screens in black and white altering the perception of size for those watching, but Presley was, in fact, very tall — at least by 1950s standards. The singer rose to prominence in 1956, two years after signing with the Sun Records label in Memphis, when he was just 21 years old. By then, he already stood at 6′0″ (182cm), while the average American male height hovered around 5’7” (171cm) back then.
Taking this into consideration, Presley was actually considered quite tall for his time, and even by today’s standards. However, Elordi still towers over Presley by a few inches—well, he would if the singer were alive today. The Euphoria actor currently stands at 6’5” (196 cm), making him notably taller than Presley – by 5 inches.
On the other hand, the actress portraying Priscilla Presley—Cailee Spaeny—is actually shorter than Priscilla herself. Spaeny stands at 5’1” (155 cm), while Priscilla is 5’4” (163cm). The height difference in the film will surely be a lot more noticeable than Priscilla and Elvis’ own height at the time of their marriage – a casting choice that is already being praised by netizens.
Priscilla is set to hit theatres on Nov. 3.