Austin Butler’s Voice Coach Defends His Ongoing Elvis Accent


Austin Butler
Matt Baron/BEI/Shutterstock

Not an act. Austin Butler’s voice coach Irene Bartlett addressed how the actor’s voice modified since taking part in the enduring Elvis Presley.

“Due to COVID shutdowns, he was engaged on it on a regular basis and it’s tough to modify off one thing you’ve spent a lot focus [and] time on,” Bartlett advised ABC’s Gold Coast on Monday, January 16, about Butler’s time filming Baz Luhrmann‘s Elvis biopic.

The California native’s accent turned a subject of dialog after it continued to resemble the famed musician. Bartlett, for her half, defended Butler’s method and stated it wasn’t being performed for present.

“What you noticed in that [2023] Golden Globes speech, that’s him. It’s real, it’s not placed on,” she shared, referring to Butler’s acceptance speech on the awards present after successful for Greatest Efficiency in a Drama Movement Image. “I really feel sorry individuals are saying that, you understand, it’s nonetheless performing [but] he’s truly taken [the voice] on board. I don’t know the way lengthy that may final, or if it’s going to be there eternally.”

Shortly after his huge win, the Life Surprising alum, 31, addressed followers who assume he speaks like Elvis.

“I don’t assume I sound like him nonetheless, however I suppose I need to as a result of I hear it lots,” he advised reporters earlier this month. “I had three years the place that was my solely focus. So, I’m positive there’s items of him in my DNA and I’ll all the time be linked.”

In the meantime, Bartlett broke down the work that went into altering Butler’s voice for the position, including, “Mainly what I search for is what their pure singing voice is doing. I strip away all the results somebody is placing on, and I am going, ‘What does this pure voice sound like?’ And what’s working and what wants assist when it comes to enhancement, when it comes to help, flexibility, stamina, all these issues.”

Baz Luhrmann: Austin Butler ‘Never Broke Character’ While Filming ‘Elvis’

Austin Butler as Elvis Presley in ‘Elvis.’
Warner Bros/Moviestore/Shutterstock

Butler has beforehand been candid in regards to the toll that taking part in Elvis took on him. After filming the film in March 2021, the Carrie Diaries alum recalled going by means of a well being scare.

“The subsequent day I awoke at 4 within the morning with excruciating ache, and I used to be rushed to the hospital,” he advised GQ in a Could 2022 interview. “My physique simply began shutting down the day after I completed Elvis.”

After recovering from a virus that triggered appendicitis, Butler continued to supply a glimpse at his artistic method to bringing the King of Rock and Roll to life.

“I didn’t do the rest for 2 years [apart from working on Elvis], that’s such a big chunk of life. I’m not stunned that it clicks in,” he defined to Elle Australia in June 2022. “As a result of I’m a shy particular person, and once I know that there’s bits of Elvis that I’d need to click on into with a view to exit on stage and be in entrance of a ton of individuals, being surrounded by his identify in all places, there’s triggers. You spend a lot time obsessing about one factor, and it truly is like muscular habits, your mouth can change.”

On the time, Butler famous that he was nonetheless “continuously altering,” saying, “Test in with me in 20 years once I’ve performed a variety of roles. [W]ho is aware of what I’ll sound like!”

Following his look on the Golden Globes, Butler attended the Critics’ Selection Awards on Sunday, January 15, the place he misplaced the Greatest Actor trophy to Brendan Fraser for his position in The Whale. Butler’s look got here days after Lisa Marie Presley’s demise at age 54.