How Priscilla Presley Felt About Elvis Star Austin Butler

Actor Austin Butler portrayed Elvis Presley in the film "Elvis," which has received excellent reviews and is starting to get recognition as award show season begins. Butler took the challenge of transforming himself into the king of rock 'n' roll very seriously and spent two years studying the icon's tics, mannerisms, and personality traits. What was really important for Butler was to ensure that he brought justice to the role, which had been attempted plenty of times in the past. "To be honest, I was most scared to have Priscilla [Presley] and Lisa Marie [Presley] see it. That was when I was sweating. I was really nervous because they were at the core of everything for me," he told Collider.

In various interviews, Butler stressed how important it was for him to make the Presley family proud. "I wanted to make Priscilla proud and do justice to her and her family," he told Entertainment Weekly in June 2022. Perhaps no one knew Elvis better than Priscilla, who met him when she was in high school, according to People. The two married in 1967 and were together until 1972. Although they weren't in a romantic relationship when Elvis died in 1977, the two were still close and had been co-parenting their only daughter, Lisa Marie Presley, together. It's clear to see why Priscilla's opinion of Butler's performance meant a lot to him and she hasn't been shy when it comes to expressing how she feels about the film — and his portrayal of her ex-husband.

In an interview on "Today," Priscilla Presley explained that watching "Elvis" wasn't easy. "I lived the arguments that they had, I lived Elvis trying to explain he didn't want to do the movies with all the girls and the beaches and everything, that he really wanted to do serious things. So living that, with him, and watching the movie, it brought back a lot of memories," she said. However, Priscilla has praised the film on numerous occasions and has been super supportive of Austin Butler. In fact, Priscilla attended the 2023 Golden Globes in support of the film, which was nominated in a number of categories. 

While chatting with E! News on the red carpet ahead of the event, Priscilla had one word to describe Butler's performance in the film. "Wow," she said. "I mean, he was amazing in the film. I'm just gonna come out with it," she continued. She told E! that, about three-fourths of the way through the movie, when she first watched it, she thought "this is amazing" and she pointed out that Butler "had Elvis down to a T." When asked what Elvis himself would think of Butler's performance Priscilla responded, "You know, Elvis would probably be pretty impressed." Priscilla was simply in awe of how Butler took voice lessons and singing lessons to really embody all that was Elvis Presley.

TMZ caught up with Priscilla Presley in June 2022 and asked her about the film after the internet had been giving Austin Butler a hard time. "He was great," she said while signing some autographs. She said that anyone who truly believes that an actual Elvis Presley impersonator would have done a better job is "sick." She echoed her feelings on Butler in an interview with Extra around the same time.

"After I saw the movie it was very emotional, my daughter felt the same way. Only because he got Elvis to a T, I mean to a T. It is unbelievable what this kid did, Austin Butler. He spent two years studying about Elvis, so that was like a shock to watch. Even some of the songs," she told the outlet. She even recalled watching the move with Elvis' talent manager, Jerry Schilling, and him actually confusing Butler for Elvis at one point. "That's how amazing he is," she said.

And Butler feels so grateful to have the support of the Presley family behind him. During his acceptance speech at the Golden Globes, he thanked both Priscilla and her daughter Lisa Marie Presley. "Lisa Marie, Priscilla, I love you forever," he said (via YouTube). Sadly, two days later, TMZ reported that Lisa Marie Presley had died at age 54. She is survived by her three daughters, Riley Keough, Harper Lockwood, and Finley Lockwood.