Transforming into Elvis Presley landed Austin Butler within the hospital.
“Elvis” star Butler, 31, said that playing the King of Rock ‘n Roll was “the best ride of my life” — but it surely all caught up with him at the tip.
“I didn’t get sick the complete time I filmed, however the day that I finished, I ended up within the emergency room,” he told People on the red carpet for the 2023 SAG Awards on Sunday.
Butler revealed that he “spent per week in bed” before happening to a different project.
In May 2022, he told British GQ that he “woke up at 4 within the morning with excruciating pain” and was “rushed to hospital,” which was as a consequence of a virus he contracted that simulated the symptoms of appendicitis.
“My body just began shutting down the day after I finished ‘Elvis,’” Butler recalled.
However the trip to the emergency room wasn’t the one health challenge he faced while taking portraying Elvis.
He also told Folks that he lost his now-memorable voice while singing Elvis’ version of “Never Been to Spain.”
“We did so many takes. And at a certain point, I just lost my voice,” Butler explained. “So then I went on vocal rest for a pair days, and I used to be capable of come back.”
Butler has been very committed to Elvis’ voice as he continues to speak just like the late singer — with many saying still using the voice is “cringe.”
Voice coach Irene Bartlett, who was hired to work with Butler in 2019, defended his ever-lasting Elvis accent, telling ABC Gold Coast that he spent years constructing a “connection” with Elvis’ personality and was fully committed to playing the part.
“I feel sorry persons are saying that, you recognize, it’s still acting [but] he’s actually taken [the voice] on board,” she said. “I don’t understand how long that may last, or if it’s going to be there endlessly.”
She also admitted that the transformation of Butler’s voice for older Elvis might have been an excessive amount of of a strain on him.
“You get through all of it,” Butler concluded. “There was those days, but it surely was the best ride of my life.”
Butler was nominated for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role on the 2023 SAG Awards — though he didn’t win.
He did, nonetheless, win a best actor Golden Globe or his performance within the biopic — and addressed his voice change backstage on the Globes, claiming it’s now indeed a part of his DNA.
“I don’t think I sound like him still, but I suppose I have to because I hear it lots,” the actor said. “I often liken it to when any individual lives in a foreign country for a very long time, and I had three years where that was my only focus in life. So, I’m sure there’s just pieces of my DNA that may all the time be linked in that way.”
