Austin Butler, who transformed into the King of Rock and Roll with Baz Luhrmann's Elvis Presley biopic, has already won multiple awards and an early Oscar. But there was one thing about Elvis Presley Butler that he couldn't seem to shake: his voice. Fans can't help but be confused by the continued, uh, imitation. It seems his ex-girlfriend Vanessa Hudgens also has thoughts on the hilarious phenomenon.
The Shannara Chronicles star spent three years trying to emulate Presley's unique voice. In December, Butler told IndieWire, "(Elvis) has been a part of my life in a way, and for me, I have a little bit of him in my DNA now, and that's a big deal for me. It's like a great gift," he doubled down on the sentiment backstage at the 2023 Golden Globes. "I often liken it to someone living in another country for a long time," he said after winning the Best Actor award. While Butler insists he no longer sounds like the "Can't Help Falling In Love" singer, he admits, "I'm sure pieces of my DNA will always be connected in this way."
Huggins seemed to find the whole ordeal hilarious. On Jan. 19, Instagram user @ryinskott retweeted a Page Six headline about Butler: "Austin Butler's 'Elvis' accent is 'pure' and may stay 'forever': Voice coach." Scott "He went to Lady Gaga Oscar campaign acting academy," the post's caption read. In the comments section, Hudgens couldn't help but react. "Crying," she replied. She would know how much Butler's voice has actually changed - she's been dating him for more than eight years.
View on Instagram
In fact, it seems Hudgens was the one who gave Butler the idea to play Presley in the first place. During a Jan. 10 The Hollywood Reporter actor roundtable, Butler revealed that a "friend" gave him the idea to play Presley.
"A month before I heard Baz was going to make this movie, I was watching Christmas lights and there was an Elvis Christmas song on the radio and I was with a friend of mine," he begins. "I sang along and my friend looked at me and said, 'You have to be Elvis.' I said, 'Oh, that's a long shot.'"
He added: "A few weeks later I started playing the piano. I'd never really sung for any of my friends or anything. The friend was there and I was playing the piano. She said: 'I'm serious. You have to Figuring out how to get the rights to the script. Then my agent called and said, 'Baz Luhrmann is making an Elvis movie.'"
Fans were quick to point out that the unnamed "friend" was actually Hudgens, as she had told the exact same story in a previous interview. "Last December, we were driving and listening to Christmas music, and Elvis Presley's Christmas song came on," Hudgens said during an appearance on Kelly & Ryan Live in August 2019. . He just dyed his hair black. He was a natural blond and I looked at him and he sang along and I was like, 'Baby, you need to be Elvis.'"
While she gushed about her handsome boyfriend at the time, host Ryan Seacrest, she also told the piano story, saying: "In January, he was sitting at the piano playing and singing and I was like, ' I don't know how, but you need to figure out how to play Elvis. Like, I don't know how we get the rights or what we do, but you need to play him. "
Even though Butler is now dating Kaia Gerber, some of Hudgens' fans were upset that Butler seemed to downplay the relationship in interviews.
