US actor Austin Butler arrives for the screening of the film “Elvis” during the 75th edition of the Cannes Film Festival in Cannes, southern France, on May 25, 2022. Image: AFP/Christophe Simon
Austin Butler revealed that after wrapping up the biographical film “Elvis,” his role as music icon Elvis Presley apparently took a toll on his health and he was rushed to the hospital.
The American actor opened up about his health issues after filming the Baz Luhrmann film in his exclusive interview with GQ magazine yesterday, May 25. When the film wrapped in March 2021, Butler had to spend a week bedridden after he was diagnosed with a virus that simulates appendicitis.
“The next day I woke up at four in the morning with excruciating pain and I was rushed to the hospital,” he recounted in the interview. “My body just started shutting down the day after I finished ‘Elvis.'”
Filming for “Elvis” was supposed to take place in Australia in 2020 but had to be shut down indefinitely when actor Tom Hanks, who plays Presley’s manager Colonel Tom Parker, was diagnosed and hospitalized for COVID-19.
Butler was cast to play Presley back in 2019. Since he was chosen for the role, he did not stop digging deeper into his character—even when filming was postponed. He spent his days holed up in his apartment, which he turned into a “detective scene” about Presley.
“Just images of Elvis everywhere, from every time period,” Butler was quoted as saying. “I think the film would have been very different if we had started shooting at that point, and I’m grateful I had the time to let myself marinate.”
Aside from doing research to prepare, Butler also made an effort to connect with the late Presley by meeting his ex-wife, Priscilla.
“She (Priscilla) looked like an angel. I walked down the hall with Baz afterwards with tears in my eyes,” he recalled.
“Elvis” made its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival and is scheduled to be released worldwide on June 24. /ra
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