Jacob Elordi Details Transforming Into Elvis Presley for ‘Priscilla’ Role (Exclusive)

For Jacob Elordi, his first transformation into Elvis Presley, for the forthcoming biopic Priscilla, was a moment of jubilation.

Recently, ET’s Nischelle Turner sat down with Elordi, costar Cailee Spaeny and director Sofia Coppola, and the trio reflected on what it was like becoming the iconic couple.

“Our first filming day was us by the pool,” Spaeny recalled.

“For me, that as really fun to see them for the first time as Elvis and Priscilla together on set,” Coppola shared. “It was amazing.”

While Spaeny said she didn’t feel like there was any one moment when she felt the full weight of her transformation into Priscilla Presley, Elordi said that, for him, “it was actually the opposite.”

“I Facetimed my mom and my agent,” Elordi said, excitedly, explaining how he just started showing off his Elvis look for them once he was in full costume. “It was totally ego.”

As for how his mom reacted, Elordi said, “I think she just started yelling.”

Meanwhile, for Spaeny’s performance as a young Priscilla, the 25-year-old actress got the opportunity to spend some time with the real Priscilla and learn from her.

“This is such a sensitive time In her life, so when I sat down with her for the first time, I really just tried to see where the conversations went naturally. And we did talk a lot about their time together,” she shared. “That was really precious. And we talked about these little moments or inside jokes they shared.”

The first time Spaeny saw a final cut of the film was at the movie’s premiere at the Venice Film Fesitval, where she sat next to Priscilla during the screening — an experience she called “sbsolutely surreal.”

“It was such a relief after the film that she seemed physically moved when she saw her life and everything,” Spaeny added.

For for Coppola, the celebrated filmmaker explained that this particular project was unlike most of her others, due to the true-to-life nature and intimate details of the story.

“For me, it was a big responsibility to tell her story in a way that she would feel good about,” Coppola said. “I’ve always just thought about what I want to make, but now I was also thinking about something that represented her in a way that felt accurate to her.”

“So that was a challenge for me in making it and I was really so relieved, and it meant so much to me, when she saw the film and said ‘This is what my life was like,'” she added.

Priscilla also stars Raine Monroe Boland and Emily Mitchell as Lisa Marie Presley at different ages, as well as Dagmara Domińczyk, Jorja Cadence, Rodrigo Fernandez-Stoll, Luke Humphrey and more. The movie hits theaters on Nov. 3.

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