Lisa Marie Presley's memory lives on during Austin Butler's Oscar campaign. The Elvis star recalled meeting the late Presley for the first time and visiting her father's Graceland estate during an appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon on Jan. 30, in which Including his rare bedroom. Presley died on January 12 at the age of 54, just days after she supported Butler, who won best actor in a drama series for playing her music idol father, at the 2023 Golden Globes.
Although Butler had the full support of Elvis' family after the casting, he didn't meet Presley until after Elvis' screening at Graceland, but they formed an immediate bond. "I've never had an experience where I met someone and immediately felt a deep connection with them," he said. "She was someone who had nothing to prove and wasn't going to open up to everyone, but she just opened up to me and we got close very quickly. So, yeah, it was just devastating."
The actor remembers seeing Elvis' bedroom during that visit, which was rarely open to people outside the family. "[I] had goosebumps," he said. "His bedroom is a place most people have never seen. I want to show you something," she said. "She took me up there and we were sitting in his bedroom. Up there, he wasn't Elvis, he was just Dad, you know? So, hearing those stories, I'm really going to cherish it forever."
Elvis director Baz Luhrmann also visited the singer's bedroom while preparing to shoot the biopic. “Clothes had been taken off, but nothing had been touched,” he told Apple Music Country in July 2022. Some of the rare items that were left untouched included a white organ, “an open book on the coffee table. Spiritual book, sit next to it”. Where the Guitars Are,” and of course Elvis’ luxurious white fur bed.
Butler paid his first tribute to Presley in a statement to People the day after her death. "I am forever grateful for my privilege to be close to her bright light and will always cherish the quiet moments we shared," he said. "Her warmth, her love and her authenticity will always be remembered." He returned to Graceland for Presley's public memorial service on January 22, where he sat with her mother, Priscilla With daughter Riley Keough behind, her husband revealed in a speech that they had secretly welcomed a daughter.
Just two days later, Butler was nominated for a Best Actor Oscar, a bittersweet moment for him in light of Presley's death. However, he still cherishes the time he shared with her. "I mean, there's a lot of great things happening, but it's really [sad]," he admitted to Fallon. "I'm devastated for her family and that she can't be here and celebrate with us. Just to be able to be at the Golden Globes with her, it's like, I'll never forget that in my life."
