Tom Hanks Avoids Questions About His Polarizing 'Elvis' Accent at Cannes Press Conference

Tom Hanks is opening up about his role in Elvis.

The 65-year-old actor plays Elvis‘ longtime manager Colonel Tom Parker in the Baz Luhrmann biopic and his portrayal made headlines over the past week when a new trailer showed that he had gone all in on the Dutch accent he adopted for the film.

And while reviews for the movie have been largely positive, Deadline notes that some critics have commented that the thick accent he uses could prove distracting for audiences.

Tom was asked about how he prepared for the role as well as whether he researched his character’s background and accent during a press conference at the 2022 Cannes Film Festival on Thursday (May 26).

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While he avoided addressing his accent work directly, Tom did discuss some of the ways he prepared for his role as the notorious manager.

“Was he a cheap crook that played fast and loose? Yeah, when it comes down to that, but I worked that all out to everyone’s satisfaction,” he said of Colonel Tom Parker. “He was a man who brought joy to everything he did — along with a bit of larceny.”

He added, “I’m not interested in playing a bad guy just for the sake of, ‘Before I kill you Mr. Bond would you like a tour of my installation?’ That’s okay. I get it, but I think that’s for other stuff. What Baz tantalized me with right off the bat was, here’s a guy who saw the opportunity to manifest a once-in-a-lifetime talent into a cultural force. He sought that and knew that about Elvis the first time he saw Elvis’ effect on an audience… He realized that guy was forbidden fruit and you could make an awful lot of money off of forbidden fruit.”

“The amount of ways that Parker cheated people out of nickels and dimes and dollars is extraordinary, and in my own way I’ve incorporated some of that in my own life,” Tom joked. “As far as his background, I think no one knew the Colonel’s background. There are some extraordinary, tabloidy, melodramatic stories about why and how he left Holland. I’d like to think, yeah, he was running away from an aspect of his past and escaping his small town, and who among us wouldn’t jump at an opportunity to do that very thing?”

He called the manager a “mercurial and brilliant man who at the same time lined his own pockets.”

Elvis is set to hit theaters on June 24. See some of the photos we have of the cast at the film’s premiere!