Austin Butler, star of Baz Luhrmann's Elvis, reveals the best piece of advice he received from co-star Tom Hanks. One of this summer's most highly anticipated releases, Elvis will tell the story of Elvis Presley's rise to fame and detail the rock and roll singer's complicated relationship with his manager, Colonel Tom Parker. Butler will star as the film's title character.
Academy Award-winner Hanks takes on the role of Parker alongside an ensemble cast that features Kodi Smit-McPhee, Olivia DeJonge, and Dacre Montgomery. Luhrmann's attachment to the project was confirmed back in 2014, with the film having been in development for a number of years prior. The director, whose previous credits include The Great Gatsby and Moulin Rouge!, has teamed up with writers Sam Bromell, Craig Pearce, and Jeremy Doner to bring Elvis' story to the big screen, with the film set to officially hit theatres on June 24.
In a recent interview with GQ, Butler discussed how all-consuming it can be to take on a role of such caliber and revealed the helpful piece of advice that his co-star Hanks offered him. After approaching Hanks, Butler revealed that his advice was simply that he should read something each day that is entirely disconnected from the project that he is involved in. Butler shared how he felt as though Hanks' advice "gave him permission" as he had been surrounding himself with Elvis-centric media up until that point. Check out Butler's full quote below.
[Hanks' advice was] "Every day I try to read something that has nothing to do with the job that I’m doing." That gave me permission, because up till that point, I was only reading everything to do with Elvis. I was only listening to Elvis. It was Elvis’s influences and Elvis himself and nothing else.
Elvis looks set to become Butler's breakout role, following a string of appearances in projects such as The Carrie Diaries and Once Upon a Time in... Hollywood. The young star previously opened up about his personal connections to the role: both he and Presley sadly lost their mothers at just 23 years old, and Butler revealed that his audition for the role involved him singing "Unchained Melody" in honor of his mother. Both Presley's daughter, Lisa Marie, and his ex-wife, Priscilla, have praised Butler's performance in Elvis, with the former having deemed the star's portrayal Oscar-worthy.
With a huge amount of accolades under his belt and years of experience within the industry, it's certainly no surprise that Hanks was Butler's first port of call when it came to getting some advice on tackling such a big role. Butler's dedication to his character is evident and from what's been teased so far, his performance could certainly be one for the books. With Elvis set to premiere at Cannes Film Festival this week, it won't be long until early reviews for Luhrmann's latest project start to make their way online.
Source: GQ
