Austin Butler's portrayal of music icon Elvis Presley in the upcoming biopic Elvis is being considered the actor's career-defining role — but in a new interview with GQ, Austin revealed that his experience filming the movie was so intense, that he had to be hospitalized immediately after production wrapped.
Austin was initially cast in the role of Elvis back in the summer 2019. Filming for Elvis was set to begin in March 2020, but was delayed for almost six months due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Once production resumed in September 2020, the film didn't wrap until March 2021. This means that for nearly three years, Austin Butler was immersed in his character of Elvis Presley, learning how to talk, sing, and move like the musician, even down to the facial expressions.
“You can lose touch with who you actually are," said Austin about his devotion to becoming Elvis on-screen. "And I definitely had that when I finished Elvis — not knowing who I was.” According to Austin, his full commitment to the part took a massive toll on his body.
“My body just started shutting down the day after I finished Elvis," the actor told GQ in his new cover story interview. “The next day I woke up at four in the morning with excruciating pain, and I was rushed to the hospital.” Austin was then hospitalized and shortly after diagnosed with a virus that simulated appendicitis. The health emergency left him bedridden for a full week.
Elvis director Baz Luhrmann admitted that Austin's work ethic and immersion into his role of Elvis was unlike any actor he'd ever worked with. Apparently, the director didn't realize that Austin's perfected Southern drawl wasn't actually his natural speaking voice “until recently."
Austin's voice has come to mimic Elvis Presley's so closely, that multiple outlets noted the difference in the California native's tone while he was being interviewed on the 2022 Met Gala red carpet. “What's Up With Austin Butler's Voice?” and “Austin Butler's Voice Baffles Fans at the Met Gala” read headlines. Even the writer of Austin's GQ cover story, Gabriella Paiella, pointed out that the actor couldn't shake his "husky Elvis” accent throughout their interview.
“My family said I didn’t sound like me anymore,” Austin confessed to the outlet. According to Cary Fukunaga, the director of Austin's next project Masters of the Air, Austin arrived on set still speaking like the King of Rock and Roll. “I was aware when he showed up, he was still very much Elvis," said Cary.
Well, whatever method Austin chose to take for his role as the music icon must have really paid off: critics are already praising Austin's performance ahead of Elvis's release. The film had its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival on May 25 and received a 12-minute standing ovation, the longest ovation so far at this year's festival, reports Variety.
Lisa Marie Presley, the only daughter of Elvis and Priscilla Presley, has called the biopic “nothing short of spectacular" on social media, calling Austin's performance “unprecedented," “accurate,” and “respectful.”
“Austin channeled and embodied my father’s heart and soul beautifully… If he doesn’t get an Oscar for this, I will eat my own foot," tweeted Lisa Marie.
You can see Austin in all his hunk of burning love glory when Elvis hits theaters in Australia on June 23 and on June 24 in the United States.
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