NME ELVIS SPECIAL EDITION US VERSION

AUSTIN BUTLER
THE FIRST TIME AUSTIN
Butler took to the stage
as Elvis Presley was one
of the most nervewracking
moments of his
life. “I was walking out in
that famous black leather outfit and I
was terrified,” says Butler, who exudes
the kind of laidback California cool that
makes it hard to imagine he’s ever been
nervous. “I’d done so much work, but in
that moment I thought, ‘If this doesn’t
go well the whole film could fall apart
and my career’s over. It’s make or
break.’”
Hundreds of extras were waiting for
him to perform and excite them into a
screaming frenzy. The scene was a
recreation of Elvis’ 1968 special, his
‘comeback’ show after seven years
away from the live stage focusing on
making movies. It was one of the
defining moments of Elvis’ career, a
show that proved he was still the most
exciting performer on the planet.
Standing on the edge of set, looking out
at the bright lights and expectant
audience, Butler took a huge breath.
“Then I realised, this is a moment that
was make or break for Elvis too.
Everything was on the line for him.” If
this show didn’t go right for Elvis, his
career was over. “I remember this thing
he once said: ‘I have this fear that I’m
going to go out there and they’re going
to throw rocks at me.’ Then he’d go out
there and after one or two songs the
nerves went away.” Butler strutted
out and launched into his first song,
‘Heartbreak Hotel’. The audience
screaming in genuine thrill. “Elvis
was right.”
ROCK AND ROLE
Austin Butler has become well practised
at embracing terrifying experiences.
Playing Elvis Presley in Baz Luhrmann’s
epic biopic has launched Butler, 30, into
the spotlight, the star of one of the
biggest films of 2022. It’s a huge,
incredibly challenging role to play.
Luhrmann’s film follows Elvis from his
teenage years – as a newcomer who
shook up the music industry and
terrified the establishment – to a global
sensation who couldn’t quite
understand his own success, to a
troubled man who died at just 42. Butler
plays them all. It’s a role that’s
consumed the actor’s life for almost
three years, through an intense audition
process that saw him beat a crowded
field to the role of a lifetime, to a shoot
that put him toe-to-toe with Oscarwinner
Tom Hanks, who plays Colonel
Tom Parker, the man who discovered
Elvis and ruthlessly exploited him. Butler
calls becoming Presley his “obsession”.
“I cannot quantify the amount of hours I
spent on every aspect of this,” he says,
with an enormous smile.
When Baz Luhrmann, the Oscarnominated
director of Moulin Rouge!,
Romeo + Juliet and The Great Gatsby,
decided that his first film in almost 10
years would tell the story of Elvis
Presley’s incredible life, he began a hunt
for the perfect actor who could
encompass everything about Elvis. It
would need someone who could dazzle
audiences in the film’s astonishing
concert scenes, but also convey the
private pain and insecurity inside Elvis.
It wouldn’t be enough to simply look or
sound like him. He needed someone
who could become him. In early 2019,
Luhrmann cast his net wide, auditioning
Hollywood stars and newcomers alike.
At the time, Butler was fresh off a
supporting role in Quentin Tarantino’s
Once Upon A Time In Hollywood,
alongside Brad Pitt and Leonardo
DiCaprio. He was far from a newcomer
to acting. Butler had already had a long
and successful career as a child actor,
appearing in a large number of shows
across Nickelodeon and the Disney
Channel throughout the 2000s,
including Hannah Montana and Wizards
Of Waverly Place, then transitioning to
teen shows like The Carrie Diaries and
Arrow. He was now quietly and diligently
making the move into adult roles,
working to prove himself alongside the
best in the business. In 2018, he won
rave reviews for his Broadway debut in
The Iceman Cometh, opposite Denzel
Washington. His career was progressing
well but he knew that winning a role like
Elvis was a long shot.
BREAKING BAZ
“I sent in this tape of me singing
‘Unchained Melody’,” says Butler.
Where many actors might be tempted to
record a barnstorming show to
demonstrate they could match the
superstar performer, Butler recorded a
stripped back performance, just him
and a piano. Luhrmann had found his
guy. Not that Butler knew that yet. “Baz
doesn’t audition in a conventional way.
He doesn’t do many things in a
conventional way,” he laughs. “I flew to
New York and spoke to Baz for about
three hours. He asked me to come back
the next day and read the script with
him. So I came in and read some
scenes, then he asked me to come
back the next day and sing a
couple of songs. We did that day
after day for about five months…
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