The 12 best onscreen Elvis actors, ranked

Priscilla, based on Priscilla Presley’s 1985 autobiography, Elvis And Me (this marks the second adaptation of the book following a television movie in 1988), explores a side of Elvis the public never saw. Since the production didn’t have the rights to Elvis’ musical catalog, the stage performances in Priscilla are sparse. Instead, the film focuses more on the man than the myth, through the lens of his relationship with the woman who became his wife and the mother of his daughter. We get to see what he was like behind closed doors, and it isn’t always a flattering portrait. Taller and leaner than Elvis ever was, Elordi makes up for what he lacks in physical resemblance with an intense, brooding charm that hides a vicious, controlling streak. From the moment he meets Priscilla as a shy 14-year-old girl living with her parents on a West German Air Force base, he pulls her, and the audience, into his orbit. And like a satellite, she’s stuck perpetually circling him, never coming any closer. Though he rules over every aspect of Priscilla’s existence—from her clothes and hairstyle to where she goes and who she sees—she stands by him for years. With the handsome, charismatic Elordi in the role, it’s not too hard to see why. [Cindy White]

In the late ’80s and early ’90s, conspiracy theories about Elvis being alive were the mainstay of supermarket tabloids, as well as a mail-order documentary hosted by Bill Bixby. It was a simpler time, when conspiracy theorists, rather than going down alt-right rabbit holes, spent their days wondering if Elvis had been abducted by aliens, or merely put in witness protection by the CIA. Joe R. Lansdale’s novella Bubba Ho-Tep springs from that well, part of a 1994 anthology of Elvis tales, and Don Coscarelli’s 2002 film remains the best cinematic incarnation of Tabloid Elvis. The notion that Presley switched places before his death with an impersonator named Sebastian Haff was once the stuff of cheesy Weekly World News fiction, but Bruce Campbell, under considerable old-age makeup, imbues him with real poignancy—even when he teams up with a now-black JFK (Ossie Davis) to save their retirement home from a cowboy mummy that’s going around sucking souls. As is common for Coscarelli films, an elaborate and absurd mythology taken seriously yields some compelling cross-genre material. And Campbell takes the job of playing “The King” (who may or may not actually be the real deal) more seriously than his broader, more familiar roles might have suggested, lamenting a world rapidly passing him by. [Luke Y. Thompson]

From Clarence Worley’s gold-rimmed sunglasses to the live-fast-die-young ethos that he and Alabama are desperately trying to outrun, the spirit of Elvis oozes out of every frame of Tony Scott’s 1993 Quentin Tarantino adaptation. But as one of the best of the film’s murderer’s row of cameos, Val Kilmer plays an imaginary specter of The King, advising young Clarence as he navigates a world of new brides, menacing Italian mobsters, and the most dangerous place in the world, Hollywood. Keeping Kilmer largely in the periphery of each frame in which he appears, Scott aims to recapture a mind’s-eye visage of Presley more so than his actual personality. But the actor amplifies those broad strokes into something truly mythic, not just as the singer is discussing “cops throwing a fuckin’ party” after Clarence murders Alabama’s former pimp, but as the Jiminy Cricket (or probably more accurately, Goodfellas’ Jimmy Conway)-like conscience to a kid fit to burst with so many movie and music references that the only one capable of cutting through the clutter is perhaps the most important pop culture figure of the 20th century. That he does a surprisingly convincing version of “Heartbreak Hotel” feels like icing on a very sweet cake. [Todd Gilchrist]

Regardless of the critical consensus around Baz Luhrmann’s new film Elvis, and the as-always necessary conversations around what Presley’s legacy means to us in 2022, it’s a “star is born” moment for Austin Butler. Known previously only for his work as Tex Watson in Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon A Time In Hollywood, Butler has the kind of looks that make a breakout star turn feel inevitable; you get the sense casting directors see his long face and piercing eyes and hope desperately that he has the charisma to match his beauty. As Elvis proves, he absolutely does—despite the movie’s determination to dress Presley’s story in every manner of maximalist flair. As The A.V. Club observed in its , Butler threatens to be outshined by the very filmmaker trying, among many other things, to anoint the actor with stardom. If you squint through Luhrmann’s deluge of distractions, you’ll see a decent re-creation of the King’s mannerisms and a vibrant channeling of his spirit—take the first moment the film actually, when a pink-suited Presley realizes the power of his hip gyrations. Butler brilliantly conveys the real-time discovery of an artist’s sensibilities aligning with an audience’s, which, ultimately, was the guy’s whole deal. [Jack Smart]

In the first high-class attempt at a Presley biopic—airing on TV just a year and a half after the icon’s death—Russell, then transitioning from child- and teen-stardom into serious adult roles, set a high bar for all that followed. Imitations of Elvis’ distinctive speaking style are common today, but at the time Russell’s work keenly captured the King’s inflections, and matched the dubbed musical vocals of uncanny Presley soundalike Ronnie McDowell. The actor’s natural athleticism allowed him to execute hip-swiveling dance moves with verve and grace, while delivering a convincing, nuanced expression of Elvis’ emotional life—his quirky humor, mercurial moods, and up-and-down romance with Priscilla (played by Season Hubley, whom Russell briefly married). Indeed, there’s much immersive synchronicity at work: as a child Russell once appeared opposite Elvis on screen; his dad Bing plays Presley patriarch Vernon; and Vernon himself lent Russell one of Elvis’ Vegas-era jumpsuits to wear during filming. The film also marked the first collaboration between Russell and director John Carpenter—they’d go on to make four more movies together—and along with establishing an Emmy-nominated Russell as an A-list talent with a vibrant career ahead of him, instantly set the gold standard of Presley performances. [Scott Huver]

Easily the most critically acclaimed of the Elvis biopic canon, this miniseries earned Rhys-Meyers a Golden Globe Award and an Emmy nomination for his searing portrayal. Those feats are magnified by the fact that the Irish (!) actor sidestepped the superficial minutiae and instead drilled down on channeling the essence of The King. He was aided and abetted by a soundtrack populated with Elvis’ own musical vocals—the first time the authentic catalog was authorized for such a project—even if the lip-synching is less than perfect. The actor’s Method approach included staying in character throughout the shoot, wearing Elvis’ preferred aftershave and wardrobe from the singer’s favored Memphis clothier, and pumping himself up before scenes by listening to Elvis songs. Rhys-Meyers evokes Presley’s hypnotic intensity and raw carnality better than most screen Kings (though he’s not quite as pretty or physically imposing as Presley). Aside from some rollicking early career scenes, he eschews the proto-rock star’s lighter, more playful aspects in favor of a more tortured vein: tortured in his responsibility to anxious mother Gladys, a tortured romance with too-young Priscilla, tortured over his profitable but artistically stunted film career, tortured by his troubling drug use, etc. Sexy angst is a Rhys-Meyers specialty, as he ably demonstrates here, and despite the oft-gloomy proceedings, his highly effective performance has marked his take as many fans’ favorite Elvis interpretation. [Scott Huver]

While our round-up of onscreen Elvises is by no means a comprehensive catalog, honorable mention must go to the following: Disney’s animated classic Lilo And Stitch found ways to honor Presley’s love for Hawaii in the unlikely form of alien Stitch (voiced by Chris Sanders); both Nicolas Cage and an adorable six-year-old Bruno Mars delivered nods to The King’s natural habitat in Honeymoon In Vegas; Jack Black was a match made in heaven with Drunk History’s of Presley’s meeting with Nixon; and Andy Kaufman, on late-night shows like Johnny Carson’s and Saturday Night Live, provided the thoroughly entertaining gold standard of spot-on Elvis parody. [Jack Smart]