Elvis star Austin Butler free of fear as Baz Luhrmann biopic hits cinemas

The fear of taking on one of the most iconic music identities of the past century is gone for Hollywood star Austin Butler, who has revealed something he has in common with the King.

The fear of taking on one of the most iconic music identities of the past century is gone for Hollywood star Austin Butler.

Now, with the actor enjoying a stratospheric rise to international fame thanks to playing the lead in Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis Presley film, the 30-year-old is focusing on the “process” over the “outcome”.

“I don’t feel fear with it anymore, which is a wonderful feeling,” Butler told The Daily Telegraph.

“I feel excited for people to see it and all of that and I know that everybody has their own opinion but the fact that the people like Priscilla (Presley) and Lisa-Marie and people close to me now who have seen it who I really respect their taste, the fact that they have felt the way they do, I just couldn’t be more overjoyed about it.”

Just as Luhrmann’s Romeo + Juliet catapulted a young Leonardo DiCaprio to top box office billing in 1996, Elvis is doing the same for Butler, who has been working as an actor for more than a decade.

Austin Butler on the red carpet at the Sydney premiere of Elvis at The State Theatre. Picture: Damian Shaw

Shot on the Gold Coast, Elvis is Luhrmann’s first film in nine years and received a 12 minute standing ovation at its world premiere screening at the Cannes International Film Festival last week.

Academy Award winner Tom Hanks plays Elvis’ manager Colonel Tom Parker in the film that also stars up and coming Australian actor Olivia DeJonge as Priscilla Presley.

Elvis opens in cinemas on June 23 and on Sunday night had its Sydney premiere at the State Theatre, where Butler was joined by Luhrmann, Hanks and DeJonge.

In the current issue of Vogue Australia, Butler speaks of the “deep terror” and fear he felt at taking on the role.

“We always said during the making of the movie that we couldn’t predict what the outcome was going to be but we could revel in the process,” Butler explained.

“It is surreal when suddenly the movie is out and then you go, ‘well, there is the outcome’ but it is still now living in the process of bringing this film to the world because it’s such a cinematic experience that deserves to be seen on the big screen.”

Butler plays Elvis in the new Baz Luhrmann biopic. Picture: Hugh Stewart

Butler is not new to fame. His acting credits include Hannah Montana and Once Upon A Time In Hollywood and he previously dated former High School Musical star Vanessa Hudgens.

He is however determined to keep a level head as the buzz surrounding his performance as Elvis gets louder.

“It is something that can warp your feeling of reality. Tom (Hanks) was talking about it earlier, just calling it attention,” Butler said.

(L-R) Baz Luhrmann, Olivia DeJonge, Austin Butler and Tom Hanks at the Elvis premiere in Sydney. Picture: Brendon Thorne/Getty Images

“When you have a lot of attention on you and you experience positive attention and it makes you feel like your life is going great, and then negative attention, and ­suddenly you feel like your life isn’t going well and you’re worth ­nothing.

“At a certain point, Elvis couldn’t be alone in a quiet room by himself because he’d experienced so much and suddenly (in) a quiet room, the void is so heavy.”

Butler spent two years immersed in the world of Elvis to prepare for the role, consuming old videos, reading books and listening to his music as he would walk from Broadbeach to Burleigh.

“I know how enticing the feeling of somebody saying that you are great or awful is. Either one of those things suddenly feels real, and anybody who is on the internet these days knows what that feels like,” he said.

“I try to stay off the internet as much as I can and try to stay grounded as much as I can. Really for me, it is really about the work. I try to keep coming back to that and being just appreciative of the process that we got to live through in making this film.”