Austin Butler reveals he 'lost touch' with who he was after playing iconic Elvis Presley

Virgin Radio

25 May 2022, 15:54

Austin Butler has spoken about being unable to separate himself from Elvis Presley after putting his heart and soul into playing The King in Baz Luhrmann's upcoming Elvis feature.

The actor told GQ magazine about starring in the biopic and said: "You can lose touch with who you actually are, and I definitely had that when I finished Elvis – not knowing who I was.

Both Elvis and Austin lost their mothers when they were 23-years-old and the star admits it gave him 'chills' and helped him connect with the King of Rock and Roll.

“His mother passed away when he was 23, and my mum passed away when I was 23. So when I learned that, it was one of those things where I got chills, and I just thought, Okay, I can connect to that," he said.

Making a pilgrimage to Graceland to meet Elvis’s ex-wife, Priscilla Presley, he said: “She looked like an angel. I walked down the hall with Baz afterwards with tears in my eyes.”

Director Luhrmann said about their similarities: “Elvis was an intensely spiritual person. And I think Austin has a really spiritual quality to him.

"He has a very sensitive and big inner life. He’s very lovely on the outside, but you know there’s deep thinking going on on the inside.” 

Still recording music for the film, Austin admitted: “It’s comforting to me now, when I get in the car. I’ll just go, ‘What do I want to listen to?’ Usually I just end up popping on Elvis,” he says.

“I’ve never loved somebody I’ve never met more than Elvis.” 

The June issue of GQ is available via digital download and on news stands on 31 May.