 Despite Elvis' evangelical Christian upbringing in the Deep South, his mother, Gladys Presley, was of distant Jewish descent. She even gave him the Hebrew middle name, Aaron, to acknowledge this. Elvis himself was aware that he was partly Jewish, and when his mother died, he asked for the tombstone to have a star of David carved onto it to honor his mother. When production moved to Australia, Tom Hanks sent Austin Butler a chrome typewriter. Attached to the typewriter was a note. Hanks had written the note as Colonel Tom Parker. In response, Butler used the typewriter to write a note back to Hanks as Elvis Presley. The two actors ended up sending letters back and forth. Butler stated that it was an amazing way to rehearse. In addition to Austin Butler, Ansel Elgort, Miles Teller, Aaron Taylor Johnson, and Harry Styles auditioned and tested for the role of Elvis Presley.