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Tom Hanks is gearing up to play Elvis Presley’s manager, Colonel Tom Parker, in a forthcoming film about the musical legend--but one of the requirements for the role is “horrible,” according to the actor.
The 64-year-old first gave fans a look at his brand new bald head on Tuesday during an interview on The Graham Norton Show. The Oscar-winner shyly showed off the new look by quickly ducking in and out of frame during the remote interview, letting everyone see the bad hair day he had to endure for the Baz Luhrmann-directed biopic.
“Let me show you the horrible haircut I have to have in order to portray Colonel Tom Parker,” he said before taking his hat off. “Can you see that? Look at that thing,” he exclaimed. “I just scared the children, I want to apologize.”
“What I really wanna do is just have a little tuft of hair right here and then a big beard--but then everybody would think I’m Graham Norton,” he said, poking fun at the show’s host.
In September, Tom Hanks returned to Australia to continue filming the Elvis Presley biopic, which was halted after his COVID-19 diagnosis shut down filming in March.
He and his wife, Rita Wilson, were both hospitalized with the virus for several days following their positive diagnoses. They continued their recovery in quarantine, before flying home to Los Angeles.
“Hello folks. @ritawilson and I want to thank everyone here Down Under who are taking such good care of us. We have Covid-19 and are in isolation so we do not spread it to anyone else,” he wrote on Instagram back in March, announcing he and Wilson tested positive for the coronavirus.
“There are those for whom it could lead to a very serious illness. We are taking it one-day-at-a-time,” he continued. “There are things we can all do to get through this by following the advice of experts and taking care of ourselves and each other, no? Remember, despite all the current events, there is no crying in baseball. Hanx.”
In a statement last month, Australian director Baz Luhrmann issued a statement about finally getting back to work on biopic, which also stars Austin Butler.
“We’re back to, as Elvis liked to say, ‘taking care of business!’” he said. “It is a real privilege in this unprecedented global moment that Tom Hanks has been able to return to Australia to join Austin Butler and all of our extraordinary cast and crew to commence production on Elvis.”