Why Riley Keough was ‘a wild card for us’

Elvis Presley’s granddaughter, Riley Keough, stars in Prime Video’s ’70s-era miniseries “Daisy Jones & The Six” — but she wasn’t cast in the role because of her rock ‘n roll lineage.

“It never even occurred to us,” series co-creator Scott Neustadter (“The Fault in Our Stars”) told The Post. “She had her representatives call us and say, ‘Riley read this book, and she thinks she was born to play this part,’” he said, referring to the novel on which the show is based. 

“And we said, ‘Okay, that’s cool.’ We talked to her, and after half an hour, we were like, ‘Yes, she was [born to play the part]!’ But even with her [family] background, she said to us, ‘I have to be upfront with you and tell you, I’ve never sung before. I sing in the shower sometimes. I don’t think it’s any good.’ So, that was a wild card for us.”

Premiering March 3, “Daisy Jones & The Six” is a ten-episode drama following charismatic frontman Billy Dunne (Sam Claflin, “The Hunger Games”) and his band as they rise to prominence in the ’70s and join forces with the talented-but troubled singer/songwriter Daisy Jones (Keough) — an association that catapults them to short-lived stardom. The road becomes rocky when sparks fly between Billy and Daisy; Billy is married to Camila (Camila Morrone), which makes things difficult. He’s also straight-laced and controlling, which clashes with Daisy’s impulsive and drug-filled approach to life.

Keough, 33, who is also the daughter of the late Lisa Marie Presley, is a seasoned actress. She’s appeared in “Max Max: Fury Road,” and “Zola,” but “Daisy Jones & The Six” marks the first time she’s shown off her singing chops. Both Keough and Claflin belt out songs onscreen as the show follows the band recording the (fictional) hit album of the decade and going on tour.  

“We sent [Riley Keough] to our music producers, who were going to put her on a microphone for the first time,” said Neustadter. “And they said, ‘There’s something there. It’s going to need some crafting, but she has this thing that you can’t really explain.’”

The novel upon which the series is based was partly inspired by Fleetwood Mac. But author Taylor Jenkins Reid, who’s also a producer of “Daisy Jones & The Six,” told The Post she researched “a lot of bands … Bruce Springsteen, Tom Petty, The Eagles, Crosby, Stills & Nash, ABBA. I really love Debbie Harry and Blondie. I pulled from a lot of different places … I think that the show did a good job of taking all of those influences and making something entirely new with it.

“I had a conversation with Sam [Claflin] where, in talking to him, I started to realize, ‘Billy isn’t mine. He’s ours.’ I get to share the complexity of this person with you. The sincerity that the cast brought to their characters blew me away.”

Fans of the bestseller might notice some changes in the show. For instance, the love triangle between Billy, Daisy and Camila is heightened onscreen. Neustadter said this is because the book tells the story from the perspective of the characters’ reminiscing, while the show depicts the “truth.”

“When I read the book … memory is a funny thing, I always sort of got the impression that there was more underneath than perhaps was being articulated [by the characters],” he said.

“We made a conscious choice early on that [the story onscreen] is not anyone’s interpretation of what happened. It is what happened. And when you do that, I think automatically it gets a little messier.”