Austin Butler’s portrayal in Elvis (2022) earned him praise from critics and viewers alike, as well as nominations and victories in the “best actor” category for a number of significant prizes. The 31-year-old actor, on the other hand, spoke up about the nutritional challenges he had to overcome in order to play Elvis Presley, the King of Rock & Roll.
Butler was heard talking about eating “microwaved ice cream” after being inspired by Ryan Gosling in a Variety Awards Circuit podcast footage posted by the magazine on its website on February 16. He also ate “two dozen doughnuts” on a daily basis to attain the weight needed to portray an older Presley.
Austin Butler says in the video:
“When Ryan Gosling was filming ‘The Lovely Bones,’ I heard he microwaved Häagen-Dazs and drank it. So I began doing so. I’d go out and get two dozen doughnuts and devour them all.”
The Dead Don’t Die star also said that eating that many calories made him feel terrible about himself.
“I began gaining weight quickly. It’s entertaining for a week, and then you feel terrible about yourself. But, we intended to film in chronological order at first. With COVID, it fast became obsolete. That was just impossible.”
Nevertheless, with the release of COVID-19 in 2020, Elvis’ shooting schedule was disrupted, forcing him to abandon his hazardous weight-gain methods. Elvis was a financial and critical triumph for the uninitiated, with Austin Butler receiving praise for his portrayal of the renowned singing great.
Austin Butler discussed how Elvis was shut down during production due to COVID-19.
Butler said on the Variety Awards Circuit podcast that he was crazy and thought he had gotten the job even before the audition. He saw the job as his, which is why he put so much work into preparing for the assignment. Unfortunately, the film was repeatedly halted, and production in Australia was eventually halted during COVID-19 in 2020. According to Austin Butler:
“When we stopped down, we figured we’d close down for two weeks and then come back, but that quickly turned into a month, and then six months. Then there was one point when Baz took me out to dinner and said, ‘I believe you should go back to the US, and the movie may not happen.'”
He also said that he would not return and would instead rent a residence in Australia until work began. Austin Butler did not return to the United States because he did not want to lose the momentum he had acquired while rehearsing for Elvis. The actor said that he was willing to wait a year. Thankfully, work started in September 2020, and the film was a triumph.
For the uninitiated, the actor won a Golden Globe in the category of “Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama” in January for his depiction of Elvis Presley in the latter’s biography. Butler’s portrayal in Elvis earned him an Academy Award nomination for the show’s 95th edition.
