When the trailer for Abigail dropped folks were quick to point out that the Kevin Durand (Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes) bore a striking resemblance to one Elon Musk. Many even thought the tech personality had gone Hollywood again after his brief cameo in Iron-Man 2. But no, the internet movie hive mind formerly known as Film Twitter—I guess now Film X—fancast Durand as the Tesla mogul in Darren Aronofsky and A24’s upcoming biopic about the mercurial billionaire.
During press for Abigail, io9 sat down with Durand to ask if he’d been approached yet about the film and if he’s been getting compared to Musk for a while even before the biopic’s announcement. Durand laughed, “It’s funny because I was one of the very lucky people who got my Cybertruck. I ordered it five years ago. And now, even more than ever, people are like, ‘Oh, my God, it’s Elon!’”
Even while shooting the vampire ballerina horror film in Europe, his identity kept getting mistaken, “When we were in Ireland, there was this $US200 million yacht parked next to this bar [the Abigail cast and crew] all went to. Everyone in that bar was convinced that that was my yacht, and that I was Elon. And this guy came up with the Tesla hat and he was like, ‘Hey, I just want you to know, I’m a big fan of yours.’ And I’m like—when they have a certain look in their eyes, I know it’s not Kevin Durand, the actor [they’ve recognized]—like it’s bigger. It’s almost like they think I’m [Elon]. He was pretty sure that was my yacht. And and I said, ‘No, I’m just an actor.’ And he was like ‘suuuure.’”
Now in regard to if A24, Aronofsky, or anyone has hit him up, Durand is ready to shoot his shot if the opportunity arises. “Has anyone approached me? I mean, everyone on the street, people ask me all the time.” he said, “I mean, I’m reaching out to one of my favorite directors in the world, Darren Aronofsky. I’m ready for you Darren. Because, Elon looks like he’s my brother. My parents are like, ‘Oh, my God, this is like your long lost brother.’ And my forte as an actor is is becoming different humans, you know? So I’m ready.”
Abigail opens in theaters this Friday, April 19.
