Austin Butler is now officially an Oscar-nominated actor thanks to his spectacular portrayal of Elvis Presley in Baz Luhrmann. Elvis. One of the most talked about aspects of this performance, of course, was the voice she used while playing the role. While it’s common for actors to change the way they speak when taking on a role (especially someone as iconic as the singer), The King seems to have stuck with Butler, whose smooth voice always seems to mimic that of the legendary rock and roll singer. . . Now Luhrmann is evaluating the speech and what he thinks of the various Butler pipes.
They Red Mill! The director opened up about his new film and the buzz surrounding Austin Butler’s performance as a singer during an interview with the Hollywood Reporter. Luhrmann also added his opinion to the “Voice of Elvis” controversy and, in his opinion, only speaks to Austin Butler’s level of commitment to the production. Luhrmann was candid in sharing details about Butler’s “acting journey”:
The thing about Aus: In my experience, there hasn’t been quite an acting journey like the one Austin embarked on. I mean, let’s forget the almost inexplicable reality that she lost his mother the same year as Elvis. The whole trip, this tape they sent me, where there was a baby crying, playing, singing a song. Then when the film disappears, I have to tell you that after the closure due to COVID he refused to leave and doubled his work. Now, her absorption into the character and her commitment to her was so great that when we explained it to Priscilla, she was concerned. [at first]. She said she thought no one could do that. How could this guy do that? [But then] the whole family, we all hugged him, almost like he was part of the family.
The rising star clearly cared about how best to honor the iconic star and strove to emulate the king to the best of his ability. While many might think the lasting effects of the role are quite alien or over the top for fans (and even a bold Vanessa Hudgens), the filming process of Elvis it was seemingly unique. While many actors are only required to stay in a role for a few months at a time, Butler has had to do it twice as long due to the unique challenges COVID has posed to production. As you probably already know, her co-star Tom Hanks contracted the virus midway through filming, which delayed production. Butler decided to continue working on the character during the respite, developing a more prominent likeness for the character and, in turn, a more distinctive voice. Baz Luhrmann felt this was a natural change under the circumstances:
I think you need to understand how profound the journey has been for him. It’s a role in his life that he’s given his life for, he’s really given his all for so long. And actually the voice, I mean, people’s voice changes. I’ve never really seen him not talking on the street [he did] Right now. When he first walked in, he already had a pretty gritty tone in his voice. He definitely had to inhabit another character entirely. But that’s just one measure of how much he’s changed physically, I mean, his body has changed, physically, right after training to do all of this.
Admittedly, this process has ended up working in the protagonist’s favor ever since Elvis was critically acclaimed. The star also received awards and nominations for her portrayal in the film. He is electric in the role and the biopic is considered by many to be a stellar performance for the 31-year-old actor. Luhrmann was impressed by his transformation, and at this point recalled an early encounter with Austin Butler which shows how low his voice was from the jump:
I’ll tell you a funny story: When I walked in about six weeks later, I said to someone, “What part of the South is Austin really from?” And they were like, ‘Oh no, he’s from Anaheim. He was already obsessively training to change the muscles in his mouth. Producing a sound that sounded like Elvis’ voice, really.
Given Elvis’ unique voice, it must have required a great deal of effort on the part of the California native. Austin Butler has certainly come a long way as years ago he played leading roles in Disney Channel and Nickelodeon movies as a teenager and also notably starred in the film sex and the city prequel show, Carrie’s notebooks. The actor took a more serious turn in the Quentin Tarantino film. Once upon a time in… Hollywood, which probably prepped Butler for his first big-screen lead role in Baz Luhrmann’s latest film. So while many will likely continue to talk about his voice, one can somewhat understand why he would keep it, based on Baz Luhrmann’s feelings.
You can see Austin Butler in elvis, which is currently available to stream with an HBO Max subscription. You can also head over to 24 News Bulletin for information on awards season and which movies are part of the new 2023 movie release schedule.
Source: Cinemablend
