Jacob Elordi Talks Hours of ‘Homework’ to Play Elvis in ‘Priscilla’ (Exclusive)

Jacob Elordi and Cailee Spaeny are starring as Elvis and his young bride Priscilla Presley in the Sofia Coppola-directed movie “Priscilla.”

“Extra’s” Mona Kosar Abdi caught up with the stars at the New York Film Festival premiere to talk about their transformations for the iconic roles.

Elordi had some big shoes to fill as the King of Rock and Roll, saying it took hours of “homework” that included “a ton of research, but it was all a joy because you're really listening to some of the best music in the world, watching some absolute classic movies.”

Jacob called working with the Coppola a “dream come true.”

“She's like the epitome of beauty and grace and so are her films, and it felt that way the whole time we were making the movie,” he said, adding there was “a lot of pickleball” during their downtime.

Cailee opened up about her own transformation, saying, “It was a really massive transformation and the hair and makeup and costume department really took on such a challenge… This is a 60s fashion icon. She’s really American royalty and those looks are also iconic and we know them so well.”

As for research, she said, “There wasn't tons of footage of her when she was younger. She didn't start doing interviews until the ‘80s, so spending that time with her and getting those… nuggets about what she felt on the first night they met or inside jokes they had were really sort of precious and so important making this film.”

Spaeney went on, “I just felt really lucky and she was so kind and she just said you can call whenever you want we can go through anything anytime. She didn't have to do that so that was really nice.”

The movie portrays some of Elvis and Priscilla’s darker moments. Cailee said, “We were just trying to put a truthful human story up on screen and take the facts from the book and from Priscilla and just try to be as truthful to those moments as possible.”

Praising Sofia, the actress added, “She’s my absolute dream director. I've been a fan of her since I was 14 years old. Her films mean so much to me they really sort of shook me when I was a young teenage girl… She exceeded all my expectations.”