Rhys-Myers gets Elvis role

Irish actor Jonathan Rhys-Myers, who starred in the hit British film Bend it Like Beckham, will play Elvis Presley in a US TV miniseries.

The 27-year-old Dubliner was cast mainly because of his uncanny resemblance to the king of rock’n roll, said CBS executive producer Howard Braunstein.

“He was the first person I’d ever thought of for the role,” Braunstein said. “I watched Bend it Like Beckham, and when you see him, you just say ‘He is Elvis.’

“He has the physical look and the style that embodies Elvis, both the sweetness and the sex appeal.”

Obese Presley died in 1977 from a heart attack. He was 42.