Twilight Fans Will Recognise Elvis Star Xavier Samuel

If you’re planning on tucking into Baz Luhrmann’s shiny new Elvis biopic later this month and find that The King’s backing guitarist looks weirdly familiar, take a moment to ask yourself an important question – are you a Twilight stan? Before playing Scotty Moore – the founder of Elvis’ backing band The Blue Moon Boys – in the upcoming film, Australian actor Xavier Samuel was best known for playing Twilight: Eclipse’s devilishly persuasive vampire Riley Biers, created by Twilight’s arch-villain Victoria to lead her evil army against the Cullens.

Born in Hamilton, Victoria, Samuel grew up in Adelaide, Australia wanting to become an Aussie Rules player. The arts and drama clearly run in the family, though. His older sister Bridget is a stage manager, while his brother, Benedict Samuel has starred in Gotham and The Walking Dead). “When we both lived in Sydney in a share house, that was sort of the culture of sitting around and talking about [script] ideas, like ‘Wouldn’t it be cool if we could make this film?” Samuel told Grazia of trading ideas and directing aspirations with his actor sibling.

After starring in 2007 Australian thriller September, he landed his first international Blockbuster role by posting an audition tape across the Pacific. “I did the audition [for Twilight: Eclipse] from Sydney. I put the audition down on tape and sent it over,” he told GQ. “I've been doing that for quite a while—doing these auditions from Australia and sending them out. I don't know whose desk they land on, or if anyone even watches them. To hear back was a surprise. I flew to Vancouver on a maybe. It was me and four other guys. And I was shooting before I knew it.” On the way over to that first in-person audition, he watched the first Twilight film on the plane.

Post-Twilight, Samuel starred opposite Rebel Wilson and Olivia Newton-John in wedding comedy A Few Best Men. He’s also featured in 2013 drama Adore/Adoration, the Brad Pitt staring thriller Fury, and 2016 Aussie mockumentary The Death and Life of Otto Bloom – and most recently before Elvis, Amazon’s Tell Me Your Secrets.

Samuel has been romantically linked to a handful of fellow actors over the years, and has reportedly dated his Bait co-star Phoebe Tonkin and Plush’s Emily Browning in the past. He’s also been linked to actor Marianna Palka, best known for writing, directing, and starring in the 2008 film Good Dick.

It also looks like he’s great mates with one of his Elvis co-stars, too – Samuel went to Cannes Film Festival with Olivia DeJonge, who plays Priscilla Presley. DeJonge shared a photo of the pair messing about with a two red roses in the back of a car, and elsewhere they posed for Polaroid photos together.

Want to know more about Xavier Samuel? He does have a verified Instagram, but don’t expect regular updates, as back in 2016 he told the Daily Mail he doesn’t really use social media.