How Austin Butler's Ex Vanessa Hudgens Helped Him Get His Elvis Role

When Austin Butler's agent called and told him that Baz Luhrmann was creating and directing a biopic about Elvis Presley, the former Disney actor dedicated his life to landing the role. "I just said, 'I'm not going to audition for anything else, I'm not going to split my energy here,'" Butler told Total Film, adding that he turned down any project opportunity he was asked to audition for. "I threw all my eggs into this one basket."

And when he finally got around to auditioning, he sent in a video of himself singing "Unchained Melody." According to a GQ interview, the "Romeo + Juliet" director was fascinated by the acting choices. "Was it an audition?" he questioned. "Or was he having a breakdown?" Luhrmann did end up casting Butler, noting the actor's commitment to the "Jailhouse Rock" singer.

Even Butler found himself feeling the pressure to accurately portray the King of Rock. "I'd wake up every day at 3 in the morning and my heart would just be pounding," he told Deadline. "It felt like this immeasurable weight on my shoulders. It felt so mammoth." The actor seemingly did a great job with the role in the end, but that wasn't a surprise to Vanessa Hudgens — as she manifested the casting.

In an "Actor's Roundtable" interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Austin Butler talked about the first time he was compared to Elvis Presley. "People always ask me, 'Had you for years thought you looked like Elvis?'" he said. "And I'd say, 'I don't really think I look that much like Elvis.' That never crossed my mind." He then recalled a moment when his friend pointed out the resemblance in his voice and looks.

And it turns out that the "friend" was then-girlfriend Vanessa Hudgens. The "High School Musical" star talked about the moment on "Live with Kelly and Ryan" in 2019, just after it was announced Butler had landed the role of Elvis in Baz Luhrmann's biopic. She said that the two were driving around and listening to Christmas music when an Elvis Christmas song came on. "I was looking at him, and he was singing along, and I was like, 'Babe, you need to play Elvis,'" she said. Two months later, it was announced that Luhrmann was working on the movie.

Even casting director Denise Chamian saw Elvis in Butler. "I had a list of my own people," she told Variety, adding that Luhrmann had Ansel Elgort, Miles Teller, and Harry Styles in mind. "When we got to Austin, I said, 'This is your Elvis.'" And now, it seems the singer's voice and mannerisms are stuck with the actor.

Austin Butler proved that he nailed the role of Elvis Presley in Baz Luhrmann's biopic. Even the "Can't Help Falling In Love" singer's family members have commented on the uncanny resemblance. "One of the most remarkable parts to me about @elvismovie that people may not know (because he's done such [a] fantastic job) is that @austinbutler is singing all of the early Elvis vocals himself," Riley Keough, Elvis' granddaughter, said in her Instagram caption.

Butler also joked about his Elvis voice sticking around in his "Saturday Night Live" monologue. And at the end of the episode, Butler and the cast sang "Blue Christmas" to say farewell to Cecily Strong and honor her 11-season run on the show.

Butler won a Golden Globe for his portrayal of the singer in 2023, but fans got annoyed that he had a hint of the Elvis accent in his speech, per BuzzFeed News. The actor addressed the comments in a press conference. "I don't think I sound like him still, but I guess I must because I hear it a lot," he said. "I had three years where that was my only focus, so I'm sure there's pieces of him in my DNA and I'll always be linked."