Austin Butler Says He Was “Rushed to Hospital” After Filming ‘Elvis’ Biopic

by Ella Harold, June 3, 2022.

When Austin Butler wrapped filming Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis biopic, he quickly learned how much the role took a toll on him physically.

In an interview with GQ published Wednesday, the actor, who portrays the late musical icon in the upcoming film, revealed that after filming finished, he was immediately “rushed to the hospital” after waking up in pain.

“The next day I woke up at four in the morning with excruciating pain, and I was rushed to the hospital,” Butler said. The actor was diagnosed with a virus that simulates appendicitis and spent a week in recovery bedridden.

The role was one Butler found himself engulfed in as he sought to precisely emulate the musical icon as much as he could, by reading, watching and listening to everything Elvis. He also worked with a movement coach to move like Elvis, as well as learned to talk and sing like him and studied animals that resembled the late singer. He also met Presley’s ex-wife, Priscilla Presley who expressed her support to the actor.

After filming, Butler said he would appear different, even among family. “My family said I didn’t sound like me anymore,” he told the publication.

When production shut down after Tom Hanks was diagnosed and hospitalized with COVID-19, Butler chose to remain in Australia to continue studying Elvis as a means of digging deeper into his role. He said his apartment had “images of Elvis everywhere, from every time period.” He eventually asked Hanks for advice on how he’s managed to keep his sanity in his work over time to which Butler recalled Hanks advising, “ ’Every day I try to read something that has nothing to do with the job that I’m doing.’