Chaydon Jay
Despite his breakout role as a young Elvis Presley in the music legend’s latest biopic, you may not have heard of Chaydon Jay. This would be understandable – with 12,000 Instagram followers at time of writing and no other projects to his name, the young actor is an industry newbie in every sense of the word.
Chaydon was born on 20th June 2007 in Sydney, Australia, but currently resides with his family in Gold Coast, Queensland. The charismatic Gemini leads an active lifestyle is said to be an avid tennis player in his free time, occasionally competing in amateur tournaments.
However, all that could change pretty soon, as Chaydon is possibly eyeing a permanent move to Los Angeles so as to further his promising career. The adolescent is currently affiliated with the management division of Echo Lake Entertainment, a media conglomerate based in Beverly Hills, California which recently produced the award-winning Hulu series “The Great”.
Moving to L.A may be the most sensible decision for Chaydon, but his important work as a youth ambassador for the Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts (AACTA) – as well as his contractual obligations to the RGM Artists management agency in his home country – could also keep the “ELVIS” star in Australia for the time being. In any case, the actor’s parents are wholly supportive of whatever he chooses to do.
Regarding Chaydon’s personal life and net worth, the actor is believed to be single and focusing on his career. It’s unclear how much he was paid for “ELVIS”, but most online sources state that the Australian is worth approximately $200,000.
Career
Chaydon was just 13 years old when he portrayed a young Elvis, and by the time the movie premiered in May 2022, he’d already grown from 5ft 3in (160cm) to 5ft 10in (178cm). Despite the obvious changes to the thespian’s height and voice, many visitors recognized Chaydon and his family as they embarked on a five-week US road trip that took them to Las Vegas, Nashville, Tupelo, and other places associated with the King of Rock.
Although Chaydon’s co-stars Tom Hanks and Austin Butler went on a similar trip – which was paid for by Elvis Presley Enterprises and Warner Bros. – Chaydon and his family footed the bill themselves, which just goes to show how committed the Australian was to his role. According to his mother Kathryn, ‘Chaydon just was so into his research into young Elvis, he wanted to know more about the man.’ The mother and son were accompanied by Chaydon’s aunt Sarah, who was also born in Australia but later moved to Nashville.
Despite Austin stealing the show with his depiction of an adult Elvis, Chaydon’s performance was also lauded by The New Yorker and other publications, with journalist and film critic Anthony Lane praising ‘the rare intensity’ of the young actor’s gaze.
In a promotional interview, Chaydon revealed that he’d been in the film and TV business since just eight years old; his lack of acting credits can be explained by the fact that he did mostly TV commercials and modeling work in his home country. In late 2020, his agent recommended him to “ELVIS” director Baz Luhrmann, and a series of one-on-one rehearsals ensued until Baz told the youngster that he’d won the part.
While filming, Chaydon stopped listening to Kendrick Lamar and Kanye West and began exploring Elvis’s discography. ‘The only thing I had heard about Elvis was the stories grandparents would tell. Everyone knows the name, but I didn’t know much about him,’ he explained. Further preparations for the role included training with a movement coach, and watching documentaries about the musician’s life.
It took Chaydon a while to land other roles after “ELVIS”, but according to his iMDB profile, the Australian has two projects lined up: “Two Ugly People”, which is currently in post-production stages, and the short film “A Beautiful World”, which is yet to announce a release date.
“ELVIS”
“ELVIS”, which was declared a box office success after bringing in almost $290 million, chronicles the life of Elvis Presley while he was managed by Colonel Tom Parker. Baz Luhrmann was heavily involved in the making of the film as its director, co-producer, and co-writer, and many fans of the director consider it to be his magnum opus, especially taking into account the trials and tribulations that went into the project.
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An Elvis biopic with Baz as its director was first announced in 2014. However, the movie languished in development hell until Tom Hanks joined the cast five years later. In July 2019, Austin Butler beat contenders such as Harry Styles and Miles Teller for the title role, and things appeared to be moving along well: unfortunately, filming had to be put on hiatus for months when Tom tested positive for COVID-19 at the beginning of the pandemic.
When production eventually resumed, all parties involved worked as quickly as possible to wrap filming up by March 2021. The movie premiered at Cannes Film Festival in May 2022, followed by a theatrical release in Australia and the US a month later. Thanks to its cinematography, musical sequences, and production design, “ELVIS” received mostly positive reviews; however, Tom’s portrayal of Colonel Parker and the movie’s lengthy 159-minute runtime were heavily criticized.
In 2022, “ELVIS” was named one of the year’s top-ten films by the American Film Institute. The movie was nominated for numerous accolades at the 95th Academy Awards, such as Best Actor and Best Picture, and Baz is currently producing a stage adaptation with an unknown release date.
Although cast and production put on a united front during the movie’s press run, Austin later revealed that Baz brought him to tears on the first day of filming after bringing the executives and ‘everybody from RCA’ into the recording studio to heckle the actor while he performed. ‘They were making fun of me and stuff while I was singing,’ Austin said.
Baz is known for pushing actors to their limits, and Austin was no different. In fact, filming “ELVIS” was such a grueling experience that he had to be rushed to the hospital at four in the morning the day after filming wrapped up. Having woken up in excruciating pain, the former Disney alum was diagnosed with a virus that simulated appendicitis symptoms and was bedbound for weeks. Even so, Austin’s efforts definitely paid off, as he shed his image of a wholesome but unserious child star, and is now working with big industry names such as Quentin Tarantino.
