In the end, the reality has spoken—and it is going again to its regular talking voice. Whereas showing on The Graham Norton Present, Oscar nominee Austin Butler admitted that the Memphis drawl he placed on to play Elvis which, curiously, stays to this present day just isn’t in reality his actual voice.
Yeah, we knew.
“I get rid of the accent, however I’ve in all probability broken my vocal cords with all that singing,” Butler advised host Graham Norton, whereas nonetheless sustaining that Southern twang. “One track took 40 takes!”
Butler’s talking voice has been the topic of a ton of (innocent) scrutiny over the course of awards season. Born in Anaheim, California (which is decidedly not situated within the American deep south), Butler burst on the scene as a baby actor in initiatives like Zoey 101 and The Carrie Diaries earlier than Baz Luhrmann‘s Elvis biopic was ever a twinkle in his eye. As such, he had amassed a fanbase aware of what his voice seemed like when he was not channeling “The King.” So, when filming on Elvis wrapped in March of 2021 and the film hit theaters in June of 2022 and Butler nonetheless sounded eerily just like his titular function on the following press tour, eyebrows had been raised, jokes had been advised, and memes had been made. Butler’s Elvis vocal coach, Irene Bartlett, mentioned that Butler’s “accent was real” and that it “may keep eternally,” prompting Butler’s ex-girlfriend, Vanessa Hudgens to remark that she was “crying” about Butler’s current prognosis on an Instagram put up. And reader, so had been we.
However to his credit score, Butler has been good-natured in regards to the mild ribbing with out ever dropping the bit. In December he hosted Saturday Night time Dwell and addressed the accentroversy, immediately. “There are individuals which were saying that ever since I performed Elvis, my voice modified. It obtained deeper, extra Elvis-y,” Butler mentioned throughout his opening monologue. “That is not true. I’ve all the time seemed like this and I can show it.” Butler then throws to a clip from an interview he did on the carpet of The Carrie Diaries, the place his voice is sped as much as Alvin and The Chipmunks degree. See, he is in on the joke!
Extra celebrities ought to be like Butler, who clearly studied on the Girl Gaga college of press excursions earlier than embarking on his Elvis press tour. His dedication to the bit—the bit being refusing to not discuss just like the second coming of “The King of Rock and Roll”—was spectacular. Not for nothing, it was additionally properly executed. Elvis is, maybe, probably the most impersonated individual on the planet, and for Butler to determine himself because the divine vessel for Elvis’s voice—and doubtlessly endure everlasting vocal injury within the course of—that takes expertise and moxie.
Sadly, every part good—even Elvis accents—involves an finish. In an interview with USA As we speak, Dave Bautista who stars with Butler within the extremely anticipated Dune: Half Two claims that Butler doesn’t sound like Elvis within the movie directed by Dennis Villeneuve. “I don’t know who this man was, but it surely’s not Austin Butler. It’s not Elvis,” says Bautista. Butler joins the movie as Feyd-Rautha, the evil nephew of Baron Harkonnen (Stellan Skarsgård) and brother to Bautista’s Glossu Rabban. Bautista says that Butler is “simply the sweetest man you’ll ever meet,” however says that Butler’s efficiency as Feyd-Rautha is “terrifying.” “His voice is completely different, his look is completely different. All the pieces about his demeanor is terrifying.” In that case, we hope Butler goes again to his Elvis voice for the Dune: Half 2 press tour.
