Everyone’s been all shook up over Austin Butler’s Elvis Presley accent ever since the Oscar-nominated actor filmed the movie about the King of Rock and Roll. Austin addressed his Elvis accent and admits his voice will likely be changing again. “I am getting rid of the accent, but I have probably damaged my vocal cords with all that singing,” Austin said on The Graham Norton Show on February 3, according to Insider. “One song took 40 takes.”
Ever since the Elvis press tour, fans have remarked that Austin’s voice still sounds like the late singer. The actor hadn’t noticed the voice change, despite commentary going viral on TikTok. “I don’t even think about it. I don’t think I sound like him still, but I guess I haven’t noticed ’cause I hear it a lot,” Austin said after winning the Golden Globe for Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama.
He added, “I think, I often liken it to when somebody lives in another country for a long time, and I had three years where that was my only focus in life, so I’m sure that there’s just pieces of my DNA that will always be linked in that way.”
Just days after the Golden Globes, Austin’s dear friend Lisa Marie Presley, Elvis’ only child, passed away at the age of 54 after going into cardiac arrest. Austin, along with Lisa Marie’s family and friends, attended her funeral at Graceland mansion on January 22. The actor received his first Oscar nomination for playing the iconic singer two days later on January 24.
Austin is moving on from Elvis and looking ahead to new roles. His Dune 2 co-star Dave Bautista revealed that Austin sounds nothing like Elvis playing Feyd-Rautha in the upcoming sequel. “I don’t know who this guy was, but it’s not Austin Butler. It’s not Elvis,” Dave told USA Today. “His voice is different, his look is different. Everything about his demeanor is terrifying.”