Tom Hanks worried about Austin Butler’s mental health when he discovered his total involvement with “Elvis”. To avoid the young actor suffering “an emotional backlash”, the star of “Forrest Gump” made him a nice proposal.
Elvis : the revelation of an actor
If he started his career in the 2000s and appeared in many films and series like Hannah Montana, switched, The Dead Don’t Die or Once Upon a Time…in HollywoodAustin Butler finds his first major film role in 2022 with Elvis. For this disproportionate biopic to the glory of the King signed Baz Luhrmann (Romeo + Juliet, Gatsby the magnificent), the actor is fully involved. He works a lot on his gestures but also his voice. During the 75th Cannes Film Festival where the feature film is presented out of competition, the actor confides to us:
I spent countless hours listening to it, watching it, experimenting and trying things out. I listened to his interviews over and over. Then I would record my voice and listen back, to see where my voice was different. He also changed a lot over the years, so we had to reconstruct his life and understand his transitions, his evolution.
Obsessed with Elvis Presley, the actor devotes all his time to him for three years. He wants at all costs to become this major figure of the 20th century, partly because he recognizes himself in one of the dramas of his life. As the interpreter of Suspicious Minds, Austin Butler loses his mother at the age of 23. A sad common point which only reinforces the determination of the actor. In 2022, he declares in the show TODAY with Hoda & Jenna :
When I found out about his mother – and then that we were exactly the same age – it hit me. It’s one of those things where you know the stars are aligning and it becomes something extremely personal.
Tom Hanks worried about Austin Butler
This investment gives rise to an impressive transformation. This logically earned Austin Butler an Oscar nomination for Best Actor. He also impresses his partner Tom Hanks, who lends his features to the enigmatic Colonel Tom Parker, the King’s manager. Noting that the young actor gives himself body and soul to his role, the star of Forrest Gump And We have to save the soldier Ryan is worried about his mental health and offers him to return to work immediately afterwards Elvis.
Tom Hanks thus offers Austin Butler one of the main roles of Masters of the Airthe third World War II mini-series he co-produced with Steven Spielberg after Band of Brothers And The Pacific. In an interview with the British daily The Times in August 2023, Austin Butler reveals that Tom Hanks allegedly told him (via variety):
You’ve dug yourself so deep into Elvis that, for your sanity, it would be wise to move on straight away. If you stop, you might feel an emotional backlash… and, you know, I have this project I’m producing.
Centered on US Air Force pilots and also worn by Callum Turner and Barry Keoghan, Masters of the Air does not have no release date yet on Apple TV+.