'Elvis' Star Austin Butler Shares the Advice He Got From Rami Malek About Taking on a Musical Biopic

etonline.com:

Austin Butler had more than a few nerves when it came time to take on the role of Elvis Presley in the upcoming Baz Luhrmann-directed biopic. «I was nervous and afraid of the big numbers with tons of extras, to go out there and perform in front of a lot of people,» Butler admits in behind-the-scenes footage from, which hits theaters on June 24. «I was filled with terror at that idea.»Smartly, Butler consulted a peer about his nerves: Rami Malek, who won an Academy Award in 2019 for his portrayal of Queen frontman Freddie Mercury in .«He said, 'You know what?

Those days will probably end up becoming your favorite days,'» Butler remembers, sharing Malek's hindsight from his role. «He could not be more right about that… I was terrified every time before going out there… But Elvis said it as well.

Those first couple songs, once you do them and you realize OK, nobody's going to throw a rock at me, it's all OK.»«Then you feel that connection and you feel how you can play with the audience,» he adds. «There were days I didn't want the day to be over.»The performance wowed not just Presley's real-life family, but Butler's Oscar-winning co-star Tom Hanks, who stars as Elvis' longtime manager, Colonel Tom Parker.«When he came out on stage he was electrifying!» Hanks raves in the clip. «I think he had to do it 30 times, with everything that was going on, and you could not take your eyes off of him every single time.»«You just wanted to see him do it again and again and again and again,» he continues. «Part of that is certainly channeling, part of it is the drive that Austin has, and always has as an actor.

But there's also a huge amount of faith that he had in the process and in himself that is not unlike Elvis.» So how did Butler.