While visually dazzling and a recent standout in the music biopic genre, the talk surrounding Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis has mostly been around its lead. And then it became about his voice–but not the singing one. When Austin Butler started making the awards circuit rounds, people couldn’t help but notice he couldn’t ditch his Elvis Presley voice, even well over a year after filming wrapped.
Now, Austin Butler is hoping to shake, rattle and roll that Elvis voice out of his system. “I am getting rid of the accent,” he confirmed on the Graham Norton Show. However, he may have caused some permanent issues through his singing as well. “I have probably damaged my vocal cords with all that singing,” he said, adding, “One song took 40 takes.”
Austin Butler’s constant use of the Elvis voice has been almost comically meme-worthy, but it has also irked many who hope Butler would have a little less conversation. When he won the Golden Globe for Best Actor (Drama), he delivered his speech in the voice. Backstage, he was forced to defend it, saying, “I don’t think I sound like him still, but I guess I must because I hear it a lot…I had three years where that was my only focus in life so I’m sure there’s just pieces of my DNA that will always be linked in that way.” This builds off of a previous statement Austin Butler made on his Elvis voice: “I had months where I wouldn’t talk to anybody. And when I did, the only thing I was ever thinking about was Elvis. I was speaking in his voice the whole time.”
Butler has some major competition at the Oscars this year, where he’s competing for the Best Actor statue with Brendan Fraser (The Whale) and Colin Farrell (The Banshees of Inisherin). If Austin Butler wins, one wonders if he’ll have kicked the Elvis voice by then. And if not, will it even matter or will it just make his speech that much more memorable?
How do you think Austin Butler’s inability to shake the Elvis voice has painted him in the public eye? Do you think he has a shot at the Best Actor Oscar? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.