Cyrus' new role: Elvis impersonator-turned-fake preacher
FOX411 Country: Billy Ray Cyrus reveals the inspiration behind his role in CMT's 'Still the King'
NEW YORK – Billy Ray Cyrus stars in the new CMT comedy “Still the King” playing a character named “Burnin’ Vernon” a former country star turned Elvis impersonator who tries to get out of community service by pretending to be the new minister in a town. He then finds out he has a 15-year-old daughter he never met.
Cyrus is also an executive producer and writer so we asked him where the idea came for the show came from.
Cyrus, whose grandfather was a Pentecostal preacher, tells FOX411 the idea came to him one day when he got off his tour bus and saw an old Pentecostal church where Elvis once played.
"Everything just kind of clicked. I was in the middle of kind of reinventing, like, where am I going to go from here, you know? And I said, man, there you go, dysfunctional Elvis impersonator who lies his way into that church."
As for whether he finds writing inspiration from his real life, Cyrus responded, "I have to say there’s a little bit of my real life in everything. I say… kind of a thin line between reality and the art that I make and I pull a little bit from that. When I write a song I do the same thing, I just write about what’s real."
Cyrus is so excited about this “quirky, fun, good-time show." He says there are “a lot of surprises, a lot of fun" and he had "a blast."
"I feel like everything in my life kind of led to this moment.”
"Still the King" premieres on CMT June 12th.