Austin Butler admits he needed a dialect coach to get rid of Elvis accent
Austin Butler has revealed that he hired a dialect coach to help shed his Elvis Presley voice in preparation for Apple TV+’s Masters of the Air.
The 32-year-old actor played Presley in Baz Luhrmann's 2022 Oscar-nominated musical biopic, Elvis, and recently spoke about how the three-year-long shoot affected his speaking voice.
Appearing on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, Butler, who plays Major Gale in the World War II minidrama, said of filming Elvis: “It was a lot.
“I was just trying to remember who I was, I was trying to remember what I liked to do. All I thought about was Elvis for three years.
He continued: “And then I had that week off and then I flew to London and at that time it was Covid so I’m quarantined for 10 days, so I thought alright just pour all this energy into learning about World War II now.
“I had a dialect coach just to help me not sound like Elviscin that film, that was the whole thing.”
Last year, the American actor was mocked online when he appeared to adopt Presley’s accent while accepting his Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Comedy/Musical.
Speaking to press backstage, he said: “I don’t think I sound like him still, but I guess I must because I hear it a lot. I often liken it to when somebody lives in another country for a long time.
“I had three years where [Elvis] was my only focus in life, so I’m sure there’s just pieces of my DNA that will always be linked in that way.”
Butler stars next in Steven Spielberg's new miniseries, Masters of the Air.
The Apple TV+ drama, which is based Donald L Miller’s book of the same name, follows the true story of men from the 100th Bomb Group during the Second World War. The series also features Fantastic Beasts’ actor Callum Turner, Saltburn's Barry Keoghan, Rafferty Law and Nate Mann as well as Josiah Cross and Branden Cook.
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Master Of The Air will debut on Apple TV+ with two episodes on January 26, followed by a new episode weekly every Friday through to March 15.
