Austin Butler' Elvis Accent Might Finally Be On Its Way Out

Austin Butler's highly praised transformation in Baz Luhrmann's "Elvis" has garnered him a Golden Globe win and an Oscar nomination. It's not inconceivable, then, that the actor might be a bit "stuck" speaking in Elvis Presley's velvety, Southern drawl. After his acceptance speech at January's Globe awards for best actor, fans took to Twitter in droves to talk about how Butler still sounded indistinguishable from the King. "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," the 31-year-old explained to reporters at the awards show, per The Cut.

Butler has been vocal about his overall intense preparation period for the biopic. In an appearance on "Jimmy Kimmel Live," the actor recalled pasting photos of Elvis all over his apartment walls and religiously practicing the icon's laugh. "I'd walk down the beach for hours with a headphone in, laughing as Elvis," Butler said, aware of the odd stares passersby gave him at the time. Now, in the midst of shooting the sequel to "Dune," Butler's costar, Dave Bautista, gave a sneak peek of what the former's voice is like nowadays. This comes after the "Shannara Chronicles" star made a telling declaration about his accent on late-night television.

Austin Butler is apparently ready to leave the Elvis voice behind. On a recent episode of "The Graham Norton Show," (via Entertainment Weekly), the California native clarified that he was in the process of "getting rid of the accent, but I have probably damaged my vocal cords with all that singing." Currently filming Denis Villeneuve's "Dune" sequel, Butler portrays Feyd-Rautha, younger brother to Dave Bautista's villainous Rabban Harkonnen. As the WWE wrestler-turned-highly successful thespian told USA Today about Butler's performance in the upcoming movie, "I don't know who this guy was, but it's not Austin Butler. It's not Elvis. His voice is different, his look is different. Everything about his demeanor is terrifying." In contrast, the "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2" star described Butler himself as "just the sweetest guy you'll ever meet." 

In a 2022 interview with Variety, Butler did not have Elvis on his mind when describing the transition into his follow-up role. During his first day on the "Dune 2" set, Butler recalled it being "like walking onto the set of any film that you admire, like walking onto 'Indiana Jones' or something." The multifaceted entertainer also gushed about his love for the first film, calling it a "cinematic masterpiece" and Villeneuve "one of my favorite filmmakers."