How and why did Tom Hanks want to be the villain in “Elvis”, the biopic of Elvis Presley?

Elvisthe film about the king of rock and roll directed by Baz Luhrmanis the story of his ambitious and aggressive representative Tom Parkerwho accompanied him all his life and who is embodied in the new film by an unrecognizable Tom Hanks.

“I also had an agent who said he didn’t know anything and forced me to do what he wanted,” recalls the actor. Elvis opens this Thursday in theaters.

If the script of this ambitious film, directed by the creator of Moulin Rouge (2001) and The Great Gatsby (2013), it is in the relationship between the artist and the businessman that he discovered his talent and managed his career. Something that Hanks, who is 66 years old and has a long career, understands perfectly.

“It took me a long time to follow my instinct and know how to say no. At first, whenever someone offered me a job, I said yes to everything. They were asking me to work, what was I going to say? ”, She recalls.

“Until I realized that it was harming me and my artistic desires. Learning to say no was one of the hardest lessons of my life,” she adds.

As a result of that change came several of the roles -Forrest Gump, Philadelphia or Saving Private Ryan- that made Hanks one of the most beloved stars.

“And that doesn’t mean you’re always successful. I’ve done a lot of bad movies, but as long as you make a decent one every three or four, you’ll do fine in this game,” she explains.

His next attempt “in the game”, as the actor defines it, is the long-awaited feature film that recounts the ups and downs, successes and failures of Elvis Presley, a global music star who, throughout his career, had a trusted man that you could take up to 50% of your winnings.

Because first and foremost, the Presley (Austin Butler) biopic is the story of a star who never learned to say no.

The film opens with an unrecognizable Hanks as Colonel Tom Parker, a circus impresario who found in the young Presley, his velvety voice and swaying hips, the ultimate get-rich-quick show.

Parker created the icon, and accompanied him throughout his journey, from 1955, when he played in traveling shows, until 1977, when he died at the age of 42.

“I met with (Elvis’s wife) Priscilla and I thought she was going to tell me about a crooked thief manipulating Elvis, but she told me what a lovable man he was,” says Hanks.

Born in the Netherlands, an illegal immigrant, Parker exploited Presley’s talent. When his fame fell, he took the artist to Hollywood to shoot about thirty bad movies; and after burning his appeal, he took him to Las Vegas to star in a regular show that lasted for six years in which Presley became bankrupt and developed an addiction to drugs.

The duo lost millions of dollars in royalties, because Parker recommended that Presley not enter the authors’ entities. He, too, turned down several world tours as the Beatles and Rolling Stones globalized pop music.

“He did great things for the right reasons and he made great mistakes for the right reasons,” says Hanks. “That is fascinating. I wasn’t interested in the role of a villain.”