Movies
Austin Butler credits Vanessa Hudgens for ‘Elvis’ role
The actor confirmed that it was in fact Vanessa Hudgens who encouraged him to play Elvis Presley in Baz Luhrmann’s biographical drama.
Austin Butler is crediting ex-girlfriend Vanessa Hudgens for prompting him to try out for the role of Elvis.
The 31-year-old has already won a Golden Globe for his portrayal of the famed singer, and he’s nominated for Best Actor at this year’s Academy Awards, which take place at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles on March 12, 2023.
Butler recently told the Hollywood Reporter Actors Roundtable that it was a friend who encouraged him to pursue the role, but in a new interview with the LA Times, he confirmed it was in fact Hudgens.
“That’s right. I was with my partner at the time,” said Butler.
“We’d been together for so long and she had this sort of clairvoyant moment and so I really, I owe her a lot for believing in me.”
Fans pieced together it was Hudgens
Butler didn’t mention Hudgens by name during his conversation with THR, which drew the ire of fans on social media.
“But the month before I heard that Baz [Luhrmann] was making the movie, I was going to look at Christmas lights with a friend, and there was an Elvis Christmas song on the radio, and I was singing along, and my friend looked over at me and goes, “You’ve got to play Elvis,” said Butler.
“I said, “Oh, that’s such a long shot.” Then my agent called and said, “So Baz Luhrmann is making an Elvis film …” The hairs just stood up on my arms. It made me go, “All right. It’s Everest. I don’t know if I’m good enough. But I’ve got to give it everything.”
Fans made the connection that Butler was referring to Hudgens after she shared a similar story on ‘Live with Kelly and Ryan’ back in 2019.
“Last December, we were driving along and we were listening to Christmas music, and then an Elvis Presley Christmas song came on,” Hudgens said. “He had just dyed his hair dark. He’s a natural blond, and I was looking at him and he was singing along and I was like, ‘Babe, you need to play Elvis.’”
Butler and Hudgens
The two were first spotted together back in 2011, making appearances on the red carpet after that.
When it was announced that Butler would take on the role of Elvis in Luhrmann’s biographical drama, Hudgens was overjoyed with the news.
“I AMMMM OVERRRR THE F—— MOOOOOOOOONNNNN. I CAN’T WAIT 😍😍😍😍😍😍 SO PROUD OF MY HONEYYYYY!!!” she wrote at the time.
The couple later split in January 2020 as per People, with Butler now dating Kaia Gerber and Hudgens in a relationship with Major League Baseball shortstop Cole Tucker.