Austin Butler is trying to lose the Elvis accent. “Elvis,” the biopic directed by Baz Luhrmann, has been highly praised by audiences and critics alike. The film focuses on the relationship between the legendary musician Elvis Presley played by Austin Butler and his enigmatic agent Colonel Tom Parker, played by Tom Hanks. The film was a huge success, garnering eight nominations at the 2023 95th Academy Awards.
Austin Butler is trying to lose the Elvis accent
The 31-year-old Dune: Part Two actor appeared on The Graham Norton Show and opened up about his challenges while playing the role of Elvis. In the interview, he confessed that he struggled to get rid of the Elvis accent and that the effort to maintain it during the film’s production could have damaged his vocal cords. He revealed that it took him 40 takes to complete just one song.
“I am getting rid of the accent, but I have probably damaged my vocal cords with all that singing,”
To understand the extent of Austin’s transformation, one should look no further than Harvest professor Irene Bartlett. She worked closely with the actor during his preparation and witnessed the profound change that took place in his voice.
According to Bartlett, Austin did an exceptional job in transforming his voice to resemble Elvis closely. The connection he formed with the character was so strong that it became difficult for him to revert back to his natural voice immediately.
Bartlett considers this to be a normal phenomenon and states that Austin fully immersed himself in the role, which resulted in the change in his voice. The professor also pointed out that Austin doesn’t intend to maintain the accent or the depth of tone in his voice anymore.
The first-time Oscar nominee told EW how he practiced tackling Presley’s voice. “I’d hear him say a certain word and I would clip just that bit out so I knew how he said that word. I created my own archive of how he said every word and every diphthong, and the way that he used musicality in his voice.”
