Cailee Spaeny & Jacob Elordi Had 'Immediate Love' For Each Other When They Filmed Priscilla
Sofia Coppola's new movie, "Priscilla," has let fans in on the truth about Elvis and Priscilla Presley's relationship. It's clear that a lot of help, research, and attention to detail went into making this film a successful portrayal of two iconic stars. And, it's safe to say that a biopic like this one never would have worked without the perfect leads. Not only does "Priscilla" follow two very real and very well-known individuals, but it also focuses on the two as a couple. So, the chemistry was as vital a part of the casting process as getting the right individual actors.
Folks who've seen the film can agree that Coppola's casting of Cailee Spaeny as Priscilla Presley and Jacob Elordi as Elvis Presley was perfection. Interestingly, though, the typical steps to ensure great chemistry between two leads weren't taken in the case of "Priscilla." It was all about Coppola's vision. According to Spaeny, she never had a chemistry read with Elordi before they got the gigs. "I guess [Coppola] just saw something in me and Jacob and she pulled the trigger," she told Deadline, adding, "The thing about Sofia is that when she knows what she wants, she really goes for it and trusts her gut." It seems that Coppola's gut instincts are unmatched, and as it turns out, the actors were just as impressed by the casting as the rest of us are.
Onscreen love was developed quickly offscreen
Meeting a fellow performer for the first time who is about to play our spouse is among the strangest challenges that actors face. And, when you haven't assessed onscreen chemistry before being cast, the task is surely even more daunting. Cailee Spaeny told The Associated Press, "You just don't know what you're getting into when someone is cast as your co-star." The particularly expedited filming process made this even more difficult; principal photography for the movie was completed in just 30 days. "When you have that little time, you're shooting massive scenes every single day. You don't get a light day. So to be able to go into this project with someone who took it as seriously as he did and really took the time to find those nuances and to do the prep beforehand was such a relief," Spaeny explained.
On The Kelly Clarkson Show, she revealed that she e-mailed Jacob Elordi immediately when he was cast, asking "Do you want to go horseback riding?" She added, "That's something Elvis and Priscilla loved to do. He was so game." Elordi wanted to make the connection fast. "You have to establish a base where you can just fall into this immediate love," he said (via The AP), adding that it didn't take long for the onscreen lovers to have what he called an "unspoken language." According to him, "We would sort of look each other in the eyes and it would just say, 'You're going to do this? I'm going to do this.'"
The actors' mutual understanding helped them overcome challenges
Developing chemistry quickly with a stranger isn't easy, but Jacob Elordi and Cailee Spaeny had the skills to make it work. Still, this pairing had some unforeseen physical roadblocks, as well, because Elordi towered more than a foot over Spaeny. Elordi is 6'5", while Spaeny is only 5'. This, Spaeny told Today, "came with its own set of challenges." She explained, "We would have to make wooden runways that went through the whole set. Jacob and I would be doing a scene, and if you looked at what was happening at the bottom, I'm in super high heels and I'm also on a platform wooden runway. But we found our ways around that — he also got really good at leaning against walls."
In more ways than one, the two actors knew how to work well together. This ability to trust each other and learn together made one scene where Priscilla and Elvis took psychedelic drugs Spaeny's favorite. "It was so improvised," Spaeny said, "Basically they just put us in a room and [Coppola] sat in another room and was like, 'Just do whatever you want.' We started playing trippy music and the lights were on ... we basically were just giggling and crawling on the floor. At one point I went up to this ceramic tiger in the room and acted like it was telling me secrets. It was a silly day, but it was good to have some fun."