Austin Butler, whose performance as Elvis Presley in the blockbuster smash film Elvis won the best actor award at the 2023 Golden Globes and finally addressed that Elvis accent that hasn't seemed to go away since he played the rock n roll icon.
Austin Butler is no stranger to press coverage these days, seeing as his performance as Elvis Presley in the blockbuster hit Elvis took the world by storm. Priscilla Presley even labeled Austin Butler's portrayal of Elvis 'incredible' in the past.
But fans have noticed one aspect of his now Golden Globe-winning performance as Elvis continues to be present, even after wrapping the film: his southern Elvis accent.
At the 2023 Golden Globe Awards on Tuesday night, Austin took home the award for best actor in a dramatic motion picture, marking his first Golden Globe win. He delivered his acceptance speech in that familiar Elvis twang, which fans have been critiquing for months.
Although it’s no secret Austin’s voice for the film was uncanny to that of the real Elvis’, fans have wondered for months why the actor, who was once known for roles on Disney and Nickelodeon shows, continues to speak in that southern Elvis drawl that we’ve all become familiar with.
Austin Butler poses with Priscilla Presley on a red carpet.
In a press interview after his award acceptance, Austin finally spoke out about the controversial voice.
“I don’t think I sound like him still,” Austin said. “But I guess I must ‘cause I hear it a lot.”
He continued to compare his experience playing Elvis to that of living in a different country, where one might start to pick up an accent that isn’t native to them after a while.
“I often liken it to when somebody lives in another country for a long time. I had three years where that was my only focus in life, so there’s just pieces of my DNA that will always be linked in that way.”
For months, fans of the film have commented on Butler’s Mississippi drawl, wondering why the twangy accent just couldn’t seem to leave his person. And while some find it endearing, others are fed up with it.
“Austin Butler has one more chance to shut the Elvis voice off I swear to god,” Twitter user @BGaytion tweeted on 10 January.
Austin Butler has one more chance to shut the Elvis voice off I swear to god #GoldenGlobes pic.twitter.com/DP0p8bmIJiJanuary 11, 2023
While another hilariously compared Austin’s Elvis voice transformation to the mannerisms of a little kid, “I feel like austin butler is physically incapable of turning the elvis voice off now. like when ur little and u make silly faces and ur parents are like 'if u keep making that face it’s gonna get stuck like that" they tweeted.
Fans have even gone so far as to compare Austin’s voice pre-Elvis and post-Elvis to see how different they sound, finding that his voice before filming the blockbuster hit was higher-pitched and more youthful. Whether that’s just a natural consequence of aging or the work of the dialect coaches on the movie Elvis (or, a combination of both) is anyone’s guess.
