No one depicts female loneliness quite like Sofia Coppola. Starting with her debut film, The Virgin Suicides, about a group of teenage sisters who end their lives, and all the way through to Marie Antoinette and Somewhere, Coppola has earned her spot in film history. Now, Coppola is returning to the big screen with a film that is already getting some of the best reviews of her career. Based on Priscilla Presley’s memoir Elvis & Me, Priscilla follows the young rock ‘n’ roll first lady’s life with the enigmatic musician. Coming only one year after the Baz Luhrmann epic Elvis, which renewed a sense of unconditional admiration for the star, Coppola’s new film is set to shatter the illusion and bring forward the real story of a young girl’s whirlwind romance and coming-of-age in Graceland. For those of you who want to know who Coppola has chosen to play these real-life legends, you’ve come to the right place.
Priscilla
When teenager Priscilla Beaulieu meets Elvis Presley at a party, the man who’s already a meteoric rock ‘n’ roll superstar becomes someone entirely unexpected in private moments: a thrilling crush, an ally in loneliness, and a gentle best friend.
Release Date November 3, 2023
Director Sofia Coppola
Rating R
Runtime 113 minutes
Genres Drama, Biography, Music
Writers Sofia Coppola
Cailee Spaeny as Priscilla Presley
Image Via A24
Cailee Spaeny is taking on the titular role of Priscilla Presley. The film follows Priscilla’s life from her teenage years when she meets and falls in love with Elvis at only 14. She begins a fairy tale life as the first lady of Graceland and, subsequently, the film follows the highs and lows of their marriage, her pregnancy, and the events that led to their divorce. Spaeny has already received career-defining reviews for her performance and even won the Best Actress prize at the Venice International Film Festival. Spaeny first made a splash on the scene in 2018 when she starred in four films including Pacific Rim Uprising, Bad Times at the El Royale, On the Basis of Sex, and Vice. Her breakthrough performance came in 2021 when she played Erin McMenamin, a teenage single mother whose mysterious death sparks a police investigation in Mare of Eastown alongside actors like Kate Winslet and Evan Peters. Her upcoming projects include Fede Alvarez’s Alien movie and Alex Garland’s Civil War.
Jacob Elordi as Elvis Presley
Image via A24
Jacob Elordi plays Elvis Presley, the enigmatic king of rock ‘n’ roll. Though this is more Priscilla’s story than Elvis’, he is still expected to play an important role in this saga. When Elvis met Priscilla, he was already an international star. The two met while he was serving with the military in Germany when he was 24 and she was 14. They married eight years later in 1967 and ten years later he would pass away at the age of 42.
The actor playing The King, Jacob Elordi, made a name for himself in Netflix’s teen romantic comedy trilogy The Kissing Booth. But he is perhaps most famous for his work in Euphoria, where he plays Nate, a high school athlete whose abusive tendencies and anger issues mask deep sexual insecurities, starring alongside Zendaya, Sydney Sweeney, and Hunter Schafer. This year, Elordi is also starring in an awards season darling, Saltburn, where he plays Felix Catton, a charming, aristocratic Oxford student. He is also set to work with director Paul Schrader and actor Richard Gere on Oh, Canada.
Dagmara Dominczyk as Ann Beaulieu
Image via HBO
Dagmara Dominczyk plays Ann Beaulieu, Priscilla’s mother. Similar to her daughter, she was already married to an older man by the time she was a teenager and became a widow at a very young age. After a fatal plane crash, Ann was left alone to care for her daughter Priscilla until she met US Air Force Officer Paul Beaulieu, who adopted her young daughter. Both Paul and Ann initially disapproved of Priscilla’s relationship with Elvis and tried to stop it. Dominczyk’s recent credits include the Academy Award-nominated drama The Lost Daughter. She is probably most well known for her role as Karolina in Succession.
Tim Post as Vernon Presley
Image via 20th Century Studios
Tim Post plays Vernon Presley, Elvis’ father. Through much of Elvis’ childhood, Vernon was an unstable figure in his life. He had trouble keeping a job forcing the family to rely on help from neighbors and government programs to get by. In 1938, they lost their home when Vernon was sent to jail for altering a check. By the time Vernon met Priscilla, he had already remarried his second wife and was living off of Elvis’ fortune in Graceland. He initially approved of Priscilla saying, “[She] had been brought up to be a disciplined and strong-minded, but she is also a tender and loving girl.” Post is known for his roles in X-Men: Days of Future Past and Enemy. More recently, Post had an appearance on the TV show Mayor of Kingstown, playing Ernest Van Ackle.
Ari Cohen as Paul Beaulieu
Image via ABC
Ari Cohen plays Paul Beaulieu, Priscilla’s adoptive father. Though Priscilla’s biological father was a US Navy pilot who died during the war, Beaulieu raised her as his own when he married her mother, Ann. Due to Beaulieu’s work as a career Air Force officer, the family was often moving around from base to base every two or three years. Initially, Beaulieu was not enthusiastic about his daughter dating Elvis. However, when Elvis came to the house in full uniform to speak to her parents, Beaulieu was won over. Cohen has starred in the It series as Rabbi Uris, in Designated Survivor as Billy Winton, and had a role in the Aaron Sorkin film Molly’s Game.
Stephanie Moore as Dee Presley
Stephanie Moore plays Dee Presley, Vernon Presley’s second wife. When Dee met Vernon in 1960, Elvis was already an internationally famous singer. A momma’s boy at heart, Elvis never warmed to his new stepmother and many believed that his indifference to her bordered on open hatred. In Priscilla’s book, Elvis and Me, she claims that he “couldn’t stand her”. Moore is best known for her work on TV shows like Degrassi: Next Class and G-Spot, as well as the 2004 movie Cube Zero.
Raine Monroe Boland and Emily Mitchell as Lisa Marie Presley
Image via Lionsgate
Raine Monroe Boland and Emily Mitchell play Elvis and Priscilla’s daughter, Lisa Marie Presley at ages three and five. Lisa Marie was born nine months to the day after her parents’ wedding and the two had already separated by the time she was five years old. Afterward, she spent most of her time in Los Angeles with her mother. Although this is Boland’s first acting credit, Mitchell previously appeared in the Academy Award-winning movie Women Talking and is set to have a key role in the upcoming movie Ordinary Angels.
Rodrigo Fernandez-Stoll as Alan “Hog Ears”
Image via CBS
Rodrigo Fernandez-Stoll plays Alan “Hog Ears”, a close friend of Elvis and a member of his group known as the “Memphis Mafia.” The two first met at a party in Graceland in the late 1950s shortly before Elvis was drafted into the army and Alan worked for Elvis until right after the famous 1968 Special. Fernandez-Stoll is most well known for his role as Enrique on the hit Canadian sitcom, Kim’s Convenience. He also appeared in this year’s most talked about Canadian film, Blackberry, and is also known for his recurring role as slightly deranged superfan Todd Pearlman in CBS’s Ghosts.
Other Supporting Cast Members
In other supporting roles, Dan Beirne plays Joe Esposito, another member of Elvis’ “Memphis Mafia’, he met Elvis while he was stationed in Germany and the two quickly became friends. After he was discharged, he became Elvis’ road manager. He served as Elvis’ co-best man and would go on to write several books about his time with the King. Beirne is most famous for his roles on TV including Ginny & Georgia, Fargo, and Mrs. America. He is also set to star in the new workplace sitcom, One More Time. Luke Humphrey plays Terry West, who was integral in facilitating the romance between Priscilla and Elvis when the two were in Germany. West, an officer in the army, is the first to approach Priscilla and inquire if she’d like to meet the King. West even wins over Priscilla’s parents and convinces them to let her attend multiple parties with Elvis. Humphrey is best known for his role as John Bobbit in the TV movie I Was Lorena Bobbitt. He has also starred in TV series like Tiny Pretty Things, See, and Chateau Laurier.
Dan Abramovici plays Jerry Schilling, Elvis’ talent manager and a member of the “Memphis Mafia.” The two first met at a touch football game in 1954, and quickly became friends. A giant in the music industry, Schilling also enjoyed fruitful business relationships with Jerry Lee Lewis and The Beach Boys. Even after Elvis’ death, Schilling remained close to Priscilla and the rest of the Presley family. Abramovici recently starred in the TV shows Jane, Clarice, and I Woke Up With A Vampire. R Austin Ball plays Larry Geller, the spiritual advisor and personal hairstylist to Elvis Presley. Having originally hired him in 1964, Geller played a major role in shaping Presley’s iconic looks. Though Elvis trusted him as one of his closest advisors, by the time Priscilla came on the scene, many in the Memphis Mafia were becoming suspicious of Larry’s influence. Ball is most famous for his roles in The End of Sex and Good Wife’s Guide to Murder.
Evan Annisette plays Mike Stone, one of Priscilla’s lovers whom Elvis tried to have killed by a hitman. Stone met Elvis and Priscilla in 1968 at the Mainland vs Hawaii Karate Championships. There, Elvis suggested that Priscilla train with him and the two soon sparked a romantic relationship contributing to the Presleys’ eventual divorce. The relationship became too fraught when Elvis attempted to hire a hitman and Stone sold a story to the Globe tabloid entitled, “How I Stole Elvis Presley’s Wife From Him”. Annisette has starred in several TV shows including Locke & Key and Accused.
Priscilla is currently playing in select theaters as of October 27, 2023, and will be expanding nationwide in the US on November 3, 2023. You can use the following link to find showtimes and tickets for Priscilla at a theater near you.
Get Tickets on Fandango