Austin Butler appeared at the 2023 EE BAFTA Awards tonight in a heart-warming interview with Dame Emma Thompson. The pair discussed his role as Elvis Presley with host Allison Hammond, but one thing seemingly stood out to viewers: Austin Butler’s accent.
In fact, it was so distracting that immediately, ‘Austin Butler accent’ began trending on Google – as well as questions such as ‘Where is Austin Butler from?’. For those of you who have watched him for years, you’ll know Austin Butler’s accent wasn’t always so… Elvisy.
What is Austin Butler’s real accent?
In fact, Austin Butler grew up in Anaheim, California, a far cry from Elvis’s Mississippi roots, and as you’ll see in the below clip, he used to have a very typical Cali-boy accent.
When he took on the role of Elvis, he immersed himself in the character for two years in order to perfect the character. Naturally, his voice has shifted – and he admitted on The Graham Norton Show earlier this month that he ‘can’t get rid’ of the accent now he’s got it. In fact, he said it’s now making him self-conscious. That’s because of the public reaction, with few able to believe that he’s not still putting the Elvis accent on.
Why does Austin Butler still sound like Elvis?
In June last year, Austin told Elle Australia:
‘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 [the voice] clicks in,’ he said. ‘Because I'm a shy person, and when I know that there's 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's triggers.
‘You spend so much time obsessing about one thing, and it really is like muscular habits, your mouth can change,’ Austin continued. ‘It’s pretty amazing. I know that I'm constantly changing. Check in with me in 20 years when I've played a lot of roles, who knows what I'll sound like!’
Well, there you have it, despite it not being Austin Butler’s real accent, he may continue to sound like Elvis for the foreseeable future.