Austin Butler remembered the late Lisa Marie Presley, Elvis Presley’s only child, days after her tragic death.”My heart is completely shattered for Riley, Finley, Harper, and Priscilla at the tragic and unexpected loss of Lisa Marie,” Butler said in a statement. “I am eternally grateful for the time I was lucky enough to be near her bright light and will forever cherish the quiet moments we shared. Her warmth, her love and her authenticity will always be remembered.”
Butler, who won the award for Best Actor in a Drama Motion Picture for Elvis at the Golden Globes on Jan. 10, received plenty of praise for his portrayal of the titular musician. However, while promoting the film in May 2022, the 30-year-old actor revealed to the New York Times that Lisa Marie’s reaction to the Baz Luhrmann-directed biopic “brought me to tears.” “I want everybody to love the film, obviously, but the pressure I have really felt is doing justice to Elvis,” Butler said in the interview.
Videos by PopCulture.com
Following some time away from Instagram, Lisa Marie took to the platform earlier that month to share her thoughts on the film. After a private screening twice, she called the film “nothing short of spectacular” and “absolutely exquisite.” “Austin Butler channeled and embodied my father’s heart and soul beautifully,” she wrote next to a picture of the film’s promotional poster. “In my humble opinion, his performance is unprecedented and FINALLY done accurately and respectfully. (If he doesn’t get an Oscar for this, I will eat my own foot, haha.) You can feel and witness Baz’s pure love, care, and respect for my father throughout this beautiful film, and it is finally something that myself and my children and their children can be proud of forever.” The singer was moved to tears after seeing her children’s reactions to the film, and she was heartbroken that her son, Benjamin Keough, could not see it with her.
“It breaks my heart that my son isn’t here to see it. He would have absolutely loved it as well. I can’t tell you enough how much I love this film and I hope you love it too,” she wrote. “Everyone involved poured their hearts and souls into it, which is evidenced in their performances. Baz, your utter genius combined with your love and respect for my father and this project is just so beautiful and so inspiring. I know I’m being repetitive, but I don’t care, Thank you for setting the record straight in such a deeply profound and artistic way. Love you ~LMP.”
In a June 2022 interview with Extra, Lisa Marie said that Butler “one hundred percent” deserved an Oscar nomination for his depiction of her father. “You know, I’m a bit biased, but absolutely, 100 percent… I can look at it objectively as well, sure. I think that he did such an incredible job,” said Lisa Marie. The singer had also lauded the Carrie Diaries actor, telling Entertainment Weekly he channeled her father. “He put everything he had, his heart, his soul, everything he had into researching, reading, watching, learning. He honoured him in every way possible.”
Butler revealed in a featurette for the film that he read every book he could find on Elvis, watched everything he could get his hands on, and worked with several vocal coaches to prepare for the role. According to Butler, performing the role of the late musician caused his body to shut down after production in a May 2022 interview with GQ. “My body just started shutting down the day after I finished Elvis,” Austin explained to GQ. “The next day I woke up at four in the morning with excruciating pain, and I was rushed to the hospital.” The actor was diagnosed with a virus that mimicked appendicitis and spent the following week bedridden. Presley was with Butler and Luhrmann at the Golden Globes on Tuesday night, and they attended a pre-Globes party on Sunday.
