Kelvin Harrison Jr.: From Christian in ‘Cyrano’ to BB King in ‘Elvis’ biopic

Kelvin Harrison Jr. as Christian in “Cyrano”

His name may not immediately ring a bell to film buffs, but that may change in no time. In fact, Kelvin Harrison Jr. has been creating ripples on his own since 2019, when he started getting noticed by critics for his portrayals in two indie dramas, Julius Onah’s “Luce” and Trey Edward Shults’ “Waves.”

The following year, he already became a recipient of a SAG (Screen Actors Guild) award as part of the terrific ensemble of “The Trial of the Chicago 7.” Kelvin hasn’t stopped there, however.

Musical biopic

This film season, aside from playing BB King in “Elvis,” Baz Luhrmann’s eagerly anticipated musical biopic on Elvis Presley, he’s also been cast as pretty boy Christian opposite Peter Dinklage’s Cyrano de Bergerac and Haley Bennett’s Roxanne in Joe Wright’s Bafta- and Golden Globe-nominated movie musical “Cyrano.” (The latter’s songs were composed by the guys behind the rock band The National.)

As if that isn’t impressive enough, Kelvin has also been cast as Black classical composer Joseph Bologne (“L’amante anonyme”) in Stephen Williams’ “Chevalier.”

But whose music resonated with Kelvin the most?

“BB King’s music, for sure,” the actor told Inquirer Entertainment. “I loved the music created by The National for ‘Cyrano’ when I heard it—it’s beautiful! But when I listened to it for the first time, I didn’t really know how my voice would fit into that.

BB King and the blues

“I come from New Orleans, you know? I grew up playing jazz on the piano and trumpet. My parents are musicians. I grew up with some of the best jazz musicians (Ellis Marsalis, Harry Connick Jr.) in the world—that was just the vibe!

“So, I understand BB King and the blues—that’s the stuff that makes more sense to me. But I also enjoyed doing ‘Cyrano’ and its music. I mean, what other opportunity would I get to be in this kind of project? I don’t know if something like this will happen again. It’s just fantastic!”

After watching the movie, we told Kelvin that he did seem like an easy fit for the role of Roxanne’s handsome but inarticulate suitor, Christian. But we read somewhere that, at some point in his life, he also had difficulty fitting in. Did he relate more to Cyrano or Christian?

“What I love about the story is the fact that so many of us can identify with all three of the lead characters in different moments,” he said. “When I did read it for the first time, I identified more with Cyrano. In fact, when they told me they wanted to cast me as the handsome character, I almost died laughing. I said to my agents, ‘What? I’m 5-foot-7 at best!’ You know what I mean?

Element of vanity

“I’m just this goofy kid from New Orleans. So I tried to put on some weight to seem like I’m strong and whatnot. I have those insecurities, too. I sometimes think I’m not good enough or cool enough for the girl. Occasionally, I also can’t find the right words to say. So I’ve been all of them in moments.

“What I realized was that it was what helped me in my approach to playing Christian … I don’t think Christian sees himself as anything but just a man who has dreams and desires. He’s sweet and bumbling. The element of vanity or self-indulgence was my gift to Christian.” INQ