‘He just talks like that!’: The Austin Butler voice discourse is back, and people still have strong feelings about it
'May THY knife chip and shatter.'
In case you’re not a chronically online person, allow me to give you a little background to an absolutely absurd situation.
Austin Butler is an actor.
You might know him from a variety of roles on the Disney Channel and The CW, but he’s perhaps best (and most infamously) known now for portraying Elvis Presley in Baz Luhrmann’s 2022 musical biopic extravaganza, Elvis. Austin gained critical acclaim for the role, winning a Golden Globe for Best Actor as well as countless nominations at other major award shows, including a coveted Academy Award nomination for Best Actor.
In fact, the main source of praise for the film overall was the actor’s uncanny performance of the icon. Namely, the speaking voice he used in the film was strikingly similar to the singer. However, after a very viral press tour, it quickly became apparent to viewers that the deep, sultry southern drawl he was putting on to mimic Elvis on-screen was not being “put on” at all—it was how the actor was speaking casually now.
This, as all strange things do, became somewhat of a meme online, with a user posting countless comparison videos of how he spoke before and after the role:
However, the actor has stood by the opinion that he doesn’t personally believe he sounds like Elvis, even poking fun at the constant question when he hosted Saturday Night Live:
