Austin Butler Addresses Sounding Like Elvis at Golden Globes

Austin Butler's Elvis Presley accent is still going strong. Following the actor's Best Actor in a Motion Picture Drama win at the 80th annual Golden Globe Awards Tuesday night, Butler explained why he still has the legendary artist's twang after starring as Presley in the 2022 biopic Elvis.

"I don't even think about it. I don't think I sound like him still, but I guess I haven't noticed 'cause I hear it a lot," Butler said, as per Entertainment Tonight. "I think, I often liken it to when somebody lives in another country for a long time, and I had three years where that was my only focus in life, so I'm sure that there's just pieces of my DNA that will always be linked in that way."

Winning Best Actor in front of Presley's family, which has been incredibly supportive of Butler's portrayal of the late icon, is something the 31-year-old star is "endlessly grateful" for. "To be in that room full of all those people that I've admired so much, and it just means so much to me," Butler said. "And then in front of the Presleys who have now welcomed me into their family in such a beautiful way – I just feel so endlessly grateful to them that they provided this space for me to somehow try to capture the essence of this man that means so much to them, and that they love so much."

Butler's fellow nominees in the Best Actor in a Motion Picture Drama category were Brendan Fraser (The Whale), Hugh Jackman (The Son), Bill Nighy (Living) and Jeremy Pope (The Inspection). While accepting the award on stage, Butler noted how grateful he was to be in "this room full of my heroes," including his former Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood costar Brad Pitt, who got a special shoutout from the Butler. 

"Brad, I love you," he said during his list of gratitudes. "Quentin [Tarantino], I printed out the Pulp Fiction script when I was 12. I cannot believe I'm here right now." Butler continued on, "I just want to thank the Hollywood Foreign Press for this honor. I will also say to my fellow nominees, you have turned in the most beautiful, profound work, and I am so honored and proud to be listed among you."

"I owe this to a bold, visionary filmmaker who allowed me the experience to take risks and I always knew I would be supported," he added of Elvis director Baz Luhrmann. "Baz Luhrmann, I love you. Thank you for believing in me in those moments that I didn't even believe in myself. I'm so grateful to I also want to thank my dance partner, the greatest dance partner I could have ever hoped for Mr. Tom Hanks, thank you." Thanking Presley's family, Butler ended with a shoutout to none other than the King. "Lastly, Elvis Presley, himself, you were an icon and a rebel," he concluded. "And I love you so much."

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