Keshaa Perry
Austin Butler used to eat microwaved ice cream for gaining weight in order to fit in for the role of the late Elvis Presley in Baz Luhrmann‘s 2022 biopic. He shared it was not an easy task to do.
Austin Butler did his best for playing the role of Elvis. He recently shared publicly about his process of gaining weight to fit in the movie, “Elvis” which is directed by Baz Luhrmann.
This movie mainly focuses on Elvis Presley’s fame to highlight racism within the country. Similarly, Austin was given the role of Elvis so he did his all for this role.
Butler shared he used to eat microwaved ice cream and dozens of doughnuts for gaining weight. Likewise, he also said that Ryan Gosling was his motivation cause he learned this process through Ryan’s book.
According to Austin, Gosling had a Haagen-Dazs ice cream microwaved in order to gain weight.
Austin appeared in the Variety Awards Circuit podcast which was posted on Thursday, February 16. A clip where Butler shared his journey says,
“I heard that Ryan Gosling when he was going to do The Lovely Bones, had microwaved Häagen-Dazs and would drink it. So, I started doing that”
Later he also added how awful the situation was for him. Butler said,
“I would go get two dozen doughnuts and eat them all. I really started to pack on some pounds. It’s fun for a week or so, and then you feel awful with yourself.”
In addition to that, he also stated,
“But we were planning on shooting chronologically in the beginning. That quickly went out the window, then, especially with COVID. It was just impossible.”
In many scenes, we can see Buter wearing a body suit. Due to his hard work and dedication towards his work, he became successful in winning the 2023 Golden Globe for Actor in a Drama Motion Picture.
Furthermore, Austin was also nominated at the 2023 Academy Awards, BAFTAs, and Screen Actors Guild Awards. Austin Butler on the other hand shared how much he worked for Elvis and wasted his time in that role. According to him,
“I didn’t do anything else for two years [apart from working on Elvis], that’s such a large chunk of life. I’m not surprised that it clicks in. Because I’m a shy person, and when I know that there are bits of Elvis that I’d have to click into in order to go out on stage and be in front of a ton of people, being surrounded by his name everywhere, there are triggers.”
Additionally, he stated,
“You spend so much time obsessing about one thing, and it really is like muscular habits, your mouth can change.”
More Explanation
Austin Butler also mentioned that he damaged his vocal cords doe changing his voice in playing the role of Elvis. Aso, he got trolled by many people due to his voice change. However, Austin denied the allegations and said he wasn’t trying to sound like Elvis. His focus was only on the specific topic and he has worked so hard for this. So due to this. he kind of sounded like Elvis. Austin gave an explanation about this topic by saying,
“I don’t think I sound like him still, but I guess I must because I hear it a lot. I had three years where that was my only focus. So, I’m sure there are pieces of him in my DNA and I’ll always be linked.”
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People who had gone through this relate to his statements and some of them supported Butler as well. Likewise, Irene Bartlett who is the vocal coach of Austin stated,
“Because of COVID shutdowns, he was working on it all the time and it’s difficult to switch off something you’ve spent so much focus [and] time on.”
In January she stated this on ABC’s Gold Coast. Not only this she also added,
“I feel sorry people are saying that you know, it’s still acting [but] he’s actually taken [the voice] on board. I don’t know how long that will last, or if it’s going to be there forever.”
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Moreover, Angela Bassett who also relates to Austin Butler’s phase made a statement defending Butler. She played the role of Tina Turner in 1993’s “What’s Love Got to Do With It”. She has experienced a similar struggle so she said,
“Tina’s laugh and the way she spoke took over [until] … maybe about four months after,” Bassett, 64, explained. “It takes a moment to get back to regular you.:
Austin Butler later added that he is trying to get rid of this accent which damaged his vocal cords.
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