Warner Bros.
Tom Hanks, made up as Colonel Parker, below Austin Butler’s Elvis Presley in Baz Luhrmann’s biopic on the career of the American singer.
CINEMA – Prevention is better than cure. This is undoubtedly the idea that came to mind of the American actor Tom Hanks when he proposed a main role to Austin Butler in the series. Masters of the Air. As explained by the person concerned, who will soon be showing the second part of the Dunes by Denis Villeneuve, Tom Hanks has indeed played a crucial role for his health after their joint performance in the biopic of Elvis Presley released in 2022.
In Elvis by Baz Luhrmann, Austin Butler embodied the famous American singer, while the Oscar-winning actor for Forrest Gump lends its features to the famous “Colonel” Tom Parker, known for having been the historical and above all exclusive impresario of the singer of Blue Suede Shoes.
And in an interview for the English newspaper The TimesAustin Butler therefore returned to the singular gesture of Tom Hanks towards him after this mentally trying shoot. “You got so into ‘Elvis’ that for your sanity it would be wise to move on straight away “, advised him Tom Hanks, well aware of the intense preparation required to become the rocker on the screen.
Lest Austin Butler fall victim to what he calls a ” emotional boost “, Tom Hanks therefore offered him one of the title roles of his series Masters of the Air, produced by the 67-year-old actor and director Steven Spielberg for Apple TV+. A mini-series that completes the triptych on the Second World War of the two men, after the series Band of Brothers And The Pacific.
An intense but unique experience
For his role in Elvis, Austin Butler did not do things by halves. The actor revealed by Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood by Quentin Tarantino spent three years preparing for this role, between learning the southern accent of ” King and weight gain (by eating ice cream) to best represent the singer’s change in body shape throughout his career.
For this, the comedian says to be “ went to the limit of what is possible “, while being aware that such an experience would not happen again anytime soon. ” Not all experiences will be like this. I don’t think I’ll ever have an experience like this again, but when I really have to dig it makes me feel alive “, he admits.
Warner Bros.
Tom Hanks and Austin Butler in the film “Elvis”, which goes into detail about the special relationship that united the two men.
An immersion and a devotion which also led the thirties to the hospital, after he contracted a virus simulating appendicitis, which then forced him to stay in bed for a whole week. ” The next day (after finishing filming) I woke up at four in the morning in excruciating pain and was rushed to hospital ” he explains, seeing in it the sign that his “ body began to fade the day after filming for ‘Elvis’ ended “.
Proof that the advice of Tom Hanks was necessary for Austin Butler to immediately set foot in the stirrup, after a performance that will have left a more than positive mark in the history of cinema. If he had to settle for a nomination without a statuette for the role of Elvis, Austin Butler had indeed consoled himself with a Bafta and a Golden Globe in the category of best actor. Just that.
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